Chiefs battle, can’t keep up with Rockets

The Spokane Chiefs hung with Canada’s fifth-ranked junior hockey team for nearly 35 minutes.

In fact, Spokane and Kelowna were tied late in the second period on Derek Ryan’s wraparound goal. The crowd was energized. Its team had hope.

Then, just more than a minute later, Blake Comeau ended all of that, giving the Rockets a lead they would never relinquish as Kelowna downed Spokane, 5-3, in a Western Hockey League game Sunday night at the Arena before 4,258.

The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Chiefs (7-7-0-0, 14 points), who remain in second place in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference.

Spokane posted impressive wins over Portland and Seattle on the road this weekend, but playing their third game in three days, the Chiefs closed out the stretch by hosting the rested B.C. Division leaders (12-4-0-1, 23 points).

The game was a good test for the upstart Chiefs. Kelowna, the defending WHL champion, has been off to a quick start this season. Led by Comeau (two goals, three assists), Justin Keller (two goals, assist) and goaltender Derek Yeomans (29 saves), the Rockets continued their winning ways.

“We competed hard today, it wasn’t for a lack of effort,” Spokane coach Bill Peters said. “We just had a couple breakdowns that really hurt us.”

The game was an entertaining one from the start. Spokane got the initial lead on a power-play goal by defenseman Matt McCue (at the 7:17 mark of the first) before Clayton Bauer tied it for Kelowna at 11:01 of the period. Keller would add his first goal, also on the power play, with just 38.6 seconds remaining in the period.

Spokane battled Kelowna heartily to start the second period and tied matters at 13:27, as Ryan teamed up with Drayson Bowman to penetrate the Rockets’ defense. He found himself alone behind the net with the puck and snuck it past Yeomans at the left post. That tied the score at 2 and Spokane had its chance.

“I just saw the goalie didn’t really know where the puck was, so I tried to wrap it around there – and it went in,” said Ryan, who added an assist and was the game’s third star.

But Spokane gave it right back on “the bump-up shift” (the one following the goal) when Keller, assisted by Comeau, scored at 14:40. Keller then returned the favor and assisted on Comeau’s goal at 17:26 to put the Rockets up 4-2 after two periods.

The goals sucked the life out of a Spokane team, which admitted it was tired, but didn’t want to claim it as an excuse.

“It’s a heartbreaker, obviously,” Ryan said. “We can’t have that. That next shift after a goal is probably the most important shift of the game and we let down, but we had a couple chances in the end to get back in the game, so that wasn’t the only fault in the game.”

In fact, Spokane closed to one goal again when leading scorer Chad Klassen scored at the 3:45 mark of the third.

Spokane would go on to dominate the period in shots, 13-3, but Comeau put the final nail in the Chiefs’ coffin at 6:22 of the third on an unassisted goal for the final margin.

The Chiefs will get a day off before returning to practice Tuesday and preparing for Wednesday night’s home game with the U.S. Division-leading Everett Silvertips.

Rockets 5, Chiefs 3

Kelowna/Spokane won shootout 0-0

First Period—1, Spo, McCue 2 (Ryan, Hobson) 7:17 (pp); 2, Kel, Bauer 3 (Comeau) 11:01; 3, Kel, Keller 11 (Comeau, Elder) 19:22 (pp).

Key Penalties – Cumiskey, Kel (tripping) 6:49; Schulz, Spo (slashing) 18:17.

Second Period—4, Spo, Ryan 5 (Bowman) 13:27; 5, Kel, Keller 12 (Comeau) 14:40; 6, Kel, Comeau 8 (Bodie, Keller) 17:26.

Third Period—7, Spo, Klassen 6 (Salmonsson, Logan) 3:45.

8, Kel, Comeau 9 6:22.

Power-play Opp.—Kelowna 1 of 7; Spokane 1of 6. Saves—Kelowna, Yeomans (W, 7-1-0-0) 8-9-12—29. Spokane, Watt (L, 6-7-0-0) 13-7-2—22. A—4,258.