Chiefs end 7-game losing skid

The wait is over for Spokane Chiefs fans.

Ned Lukacevic had a goal and an assist as Spokane ended a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-1 in a Western Hockey League game Friday night at the Arena before 6,241.

Spokane (6-10-0-1) also got goals from Joe Logan, Derek Ryan, Chad Klassen and captain Jevon Desautels. Jim Watt made 34 saves in net for Spokane to earn the win. Jeff Lynch added two assists.

The lone goal for Seattle (13-5) came from Nate Thompson. Bryan Bridges stopped 16 shots in taking the loss before being replaced by Josh Lepp midway through the game.

The T-Birds came into the game as the No. 6 team in the Canadian Hockey League rankings and leading the U.S. Division of the Western Conference. They were winners of three straight and five in a row on the road. But none of that mattered.

“It’s huge for our team right now,” said Lukacevic, whose last goal came against Seattle on Oct. 29. “It’s tough losing seven in a row, but I can’t even explain the feeling I have right now. But we’re keeping an even keel, we’ve got another big one (today).”

The Chiefs, who host Portland tonight, did all the things they hadn’t been doing: finishing checks; passing the puck crisply; being the first to loose pucks; and trusting one another on the ice for the full 60 minutes.

“If we can show up for these games, we need to show up for the others, too,” said Watt, who credited his night to a pregame visit by former longtime equipment manager Dan Mitchell.

Special teams were the difference, as Spokane converted on three of six power plays and killed off all seven short-handed situations. All this came against a team that came into the game as second-best in the league in killing off penalties (93 percent).

“I think the guys deserve it,” said Chiefs coach Al Conroy. “They worked real hard from the start of the game to the finish – they were real committed to the team effort.”

The Chiefs jumped to a 2-0 lead after one period on the strength of two power-play goals, a specialty team that had been struggling for Spokane during the losing streak. Lukacevic had a hand in both, assisting on the first and scoring the second.

Spokane got its first goal at 7:20 of the first period when Logan picked up a long rebound of a Lukacevic shot at the left circle, then placed an unobstructed shot to the open half of the net that Bridges left for him.

Then, with the period winding down, Lukacevic gave his team a big lift going into the locker room when he converted on a beautiful no-look, back-hand pass from Jeff Lynch right in front of the crease at the 18:51 mark.

The Chiefs ended the period with 17 shots, one more than they had in the entire game in Kelowna on Wednesday.

Spokane extended its lead to 4-0 in the second period with a couple of hustle plays that typified the effort – first by Ryan, then by Klassen.

The first goal came when Spokane product Ryan outraced two T-Birds to a loose puck in the neutral zone, then turned on the jets and closed on Bridges. Ryan came in from the left slot and got Bridges to commit before moving across the crease while holding the puck. He then placed it low, glove side on Bridges just inside the right post for his fourth goal of his rookie season.

Klassen’s goal came on a howitzer from the right circle at the 11:07 mark, after he picked the puck clean from a Seattle defender. It was the eighth goal of the season for the Chiefs’ leading scorer, named to the WHL All-Star team earlier this week.

Seattle pulled Bridges and replaced him with Lepp, who faced only five shots the rest of the way.

Then Seattle, which had redoubled its efforts at the start of the period, came back again with another surge. The T-Birds were repelled several times by Watt, but finally broke through on a rebound goal by Thompson at the 12:42 mark on a third shot.

The Chiefs’ rebirth, and the scoring, was complete when Desautels got his fourth goal with just 56 seconds left in the game.

Ice chips

Kyle Howarth (head injury, day-to-day) was out of the lineup for the Chiefs, as was Myles Stoesz, who was suspended for one game due to a 5-minute major penalty for cross-checking in the Red Deer game Tuesday.

Chiefs 5, Thunderbirds 1

First period – 1, Spo, Logan 2 (Lukacevic, Gladue), 7:20 (pp). 2, Spo, Lukacevic 5 (Klassen, Je.Lynch), 18:51 (pp). Key penalties – Sea, Couture (goaltender int.), 9:13; Sea, Fitzgerald (cross checking), 18:05.

Second period – 3, Spo, Ryan 4 (Je.Lynch), 3:56; 4, Spo, Klassen 8 (Zimmerman, Engman), 11:07; 5, Sea, Metcalfe 6 (Durand, Hansen), 12:42. Key penalties – None.

Third period – 6, Spo, Desautels 4 (Grabner, Ryan), 19:04 (pp). Key penalty – Couture, Sea (checking from behind), 17:35.

Power-play opportunities–Seattle 0 of 7; Spokane 3 of 6. Saves–Seattle, Bridges 1-15-x–16; Lepp x-1-3–4. Spokane, Watt 11-11-12–34. A–6,241.