Giants arrive on a five-game roll

The Spokane Chiefs will try to keep their roll going, but will have to do it against another streaking foe.

Spokane plays host to the Vancouver Giants tonight in a 7 p.m. Western Hockey League game at the Arena.

The Chiefs (3-3) are unbeaten in three home games after having ended Lethbridge’s five-game unbeaten streak with a 6-3 win on Tuesday night.

The Giants (6-2), winners of five straight, feature explosive 17-year-old center Gilbert Brule.

Brule is projected as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2005 National Hockey League Entry Draft. The 5-foot-10, 165-pounder has 14 points through his team’s first eight games and is the WHL’s co-leader in scoring.

Vancouver also features Adam Courchaine, a 20-year-old center who has scored 167 points over the last two seasons. In goal, 18-year-old rookie goaltender Marek Schwarz of the Czech Republic has posted a 2.36 goals-against average and a .904 saves percentage.

On the blue line, the team features two 18-year-old first-round draft picks from the 2004 NHL draft: Mark Fistric, 6-3, 220 (Dallas); and Slovakian Andrej Meszaros, 6-0, 195 (Ottawa). Fistric had 192 penalty minutes in 2003-04 and teammate Triston Grant had 267 minutes last season.

The teams have met once this season, on Oct. 5 at Vancouver, and the Giants posted a 5-1 victory.

Ice chips

The game will mark the return to Spokane for Vancouver defenseman Andy Schenn, who was traded by Spokane this month for Joe Logan. … Spokane’s Chad Klassen (four goals, five assists) and Scott Lynch (one goal, eight assists) are tied for the team lead with nine points apiece. Lynch has a point in all of Spokane’s six games. … Chiefs captain Jevon Desautels will make his return to the lineup tonight after having served his two-game suspension.