Spokane embraces past, present
The Spokane Chiefs’ home opener on Saturday night had a little feel of the old and a little of the new.
The new was the pregame event that honored “Local Heroes” (fire, military, police) and “Future Chiefs” (Spokane youth hockey players). The show lasted more than a half-hour in the Veterans Memorial Arena, a facility celebrating its 10th year.
The old was a feel of excitement from the fans much like that of championship days of the former “Boone Street Barn.” The connections to the past were highlighted by the team, particularly with the introduction of former Chiefs captain and current assistant coach Kevin Sawyer and new coach Bill Peters.
Peters was behind the bench as an assistant coach the last time Spokane was a WHL power and was cheered by the fans on Saturday.
Another element of the old – fisticuffs – also returned, to the delight of much of the crowd.
Chiefs forward Myles Stoesz energized the crowd and his teammates just 2 minutes, 15 seconds into the game with a TKO of Tri-City toughman Aaron Boogard. Stoesz landed thunderous punches which left Boogard dazed and on the ice as trainers attended to him, unable to return to the game with a shiner under his right eye and a concussion.
“We kind of had a slow start with the opening ceremonies, so I just wanted to get the fans into it and the team into it,” Stoesz said. “It’s unfortunate that Boogard got hurt – I don’t like to do that to a guy, but it’s part of the game and hopefully he’s all right.”
Stoesz said he’s unsure how much he’ll have to fight this season after establishing himself last season as one of the league’s toughest players.
“I’m just going to take it when it comes,” Stoesz said. “I’m not going to go looking for it. If it comes to me, it comes to me, and I’ll take it.”
Paying the Price
Tri-City goalie Carey Price was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2005 National Hockey League draft, but he doesn’t seem to strike much fear into the hearts of the Chiefs – especially when Jim Watt is in goal for them.
Spokane was 6-3-1-1 last season against Price with their No. 1 goalie on the ice. The Chiefs beat Price and the Ams in their home opener for the second straight year. For his part, Watt said he doesn’t worry about who is at the other end of the ice.
“Carey Price is certainly a well-known goaltender but I can’t worry about him, per se, because if I worry about him and whether he’s going to have a good game, then I’m probably going to have a bad game anyway,” Watt said.
Watt faced only 22 shots, a testament to the play in front of him, and came up big when left in one-on-one situations. Turnovers and loose pucks by the Chiefs that led to mistake goals last season have been less prevalent over the first two games.
Watt had to endure the strain of some health issues with his family last season, worries that are now gone. As a result, he’s decided to donate four tickets per game to three local charities that work with families in similar struggles.
Bruton’s brush with offense
Chris Bruton is often one of the overlooked forwards on a deep Spokane front line.
But Bruton was hard to miss on opening night, having a hand in both of Spokane’s first two goals. He scored while fully laid out and put a goal past Price that he said was an exhilarating moment.
“It helps you to get your confidence and you build on that,” he said after the game. “You like to help out the team and build toward that at the same time.”