Chiefs sneak past Moose Jaw in shootout

The Moose Jaw Warriors win 85 percent of the games in which they are leading after the first period.

That trait made for a daunting task for the Spokane Chiefs, who trailed the visiting Warriors 2-0 after one period in a Western Hockey League game on Saturday night at the Arena.

Moose Jaw (22-14-2-3, 49 points) and Spokane (17-19-3, 37) met in the teams’ only matchup of the season – and it was a wild one. The teams went to an overtime shootout before Spokane prevailed 5-4 on a goal by 20-year-old assistant captain Chad Klassen.

After falling behind, Spokane stormed back in a crazy second period that ended in a 3-3 tie after a series of scrums.

Trailing 3-2, the Warriors rallied for two power-play goals to retake the lead. On the first, Riley Hozapfel put in his second goal of the game with just 19.3 seconds left in the second period to tie the game.

Chiefs assistant captain Joe Logan received a game misconduct for a major cross-checking penalty late in the second period. That call resulted in a 5-minute power play that carried into the third period.

Moose Jaw took a 4-3 lead on a redirect goal by Dustin Boyd just 3:12 in the final period. The turn of events wiped out a comeback effort by the Chiefs in which they scored three unanswered goals on Warriors goalie Josh Lepp to take a 3-2 lead.

The final goal of Spokane’s outburst came at the 16:49 mark of the second on a one-timer by Logan, on the power play, and was set up on a nice cross-ice pass by Klassen.

Klassen also assisted on Spokane’s second goal – by Derek Ryan on a wrist shot from the right circle at 5:10 of the period. The three points gave Klassen six in the last two nights.

Spokane got on the board just 2:38 into the period when Michael Grabner threw a shot on net from the top of the left circle which caromed over Lepp and tumbled into the net.

Spokane came out of the gate with some jump and outplayed Moose Jaw for much of the first period. However, it trailed 2-0 after 20 minutes on deflection goals in the final 9 minutes of the period by Kenndal McArdle (11:37) and Hozapfel (18:22) against rookie Spokane goalie Thomas Stehr, who made 18 saves.

Ice chips

Chiefs captain Jeff Lynch was back in the lineup for his second straight game after missing a month due to a knee injury. … The Chiefs also welcomed back Johannes Salmonsson from the World Junior (U-17) tournament, where he was a member of Team Sweden. He looked sharp in his return. … The Chiefs suited up 15-year-old Chris Langkow, one night after fellow 15-year-old Michael Reddington played again. In the WHL, 15-year-olds are allowed to play only five games before they can be called up at the conclusion of their junior team’s season.

Chiefs 5, Warriors 4 (SO)

First Period – 1, MJ, McArdle (Erhart, Boyd) 11:37; 2, MJ, Hozapfel (Herman, Jones) 18:22.

Second Period – 3, Spo, Grabner 2:38; 4, Spo, Ryan (Klassen) 5:10; 5, Spo, Logan (Klassen, Zimmerman) 16:49; 6, MJ, Hozapfel (McArdle, Brower) 19:41.

Third Period – 7, MJ, Boyd (McArdle, Brower) 3:12; 8, Spo, Bruton (Zimm, Erickson) 13:00.

Overtime – None

Shootout – Spokane wins shootout 2-0. Moose Jaw 0 (Boyd, miss; Brower, miss); Spokane 2 (Ryan, goal, Klassen, goal).

Power-play Opp. – Moose Jaw 2 of 5; Spokane 1 of 5. Saves – Moose Jaw, Lepp 31 saves. Spokane, Stehr 18 saves. A – 6,634.