Chiefs pull off comeback

The Chiefs have been looking for a finisher and a stopper. They may have found both of them – finally – with 25 games left.

Michael Grabner had two goals and two assists, and goalie Kevin Armstrong made 37 saves for his first win as a Chief as Spokane ended a seven-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Giants in Western Hockey League play on Wednesday night at the Arena.

Spokane, which often does things the hard way, did not deviate from its pattern on this night. The Chiefs spotted the Giants a 3-0 lead – 2-0 in the first minute alone – before they mounted a comeback with five unanswered goals over two periods.

The Chiefs had their share of penalties but killed off all six man-advantages for Vancouver and went 2 for 8 on the power play.

But the difference on this night was that Spokane finished off its opponent – which didn’t occur until Armstrong made some big saves down the stretch and Grabner put the puck into an empty net with 25.9 seconds left. Grabner let it go from the lower right circle and hit the far side of the net.

“I was kind of nervous, because it was a pretty tough angle,” said Grabner. “But when I made it I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s over.’ “

He was then mobbed by his teammates.

“We knew we could do it,” Grabner said. “We all contributed, we all worked hard. We stuck up for each other as a team.”

The win allowed last-place Spokane (18-24-4-1, 41 points) to gain on fourth-place Tri-City (44) in the U.S. Division standings. Spokane hits the road for three games in three nights this weekend with a jump in its step.

“They’re all good,” said a smiling Spokane coach Bill Peters of the win. “That’s the way we want to do it – we blocked shots and we were good on the penalty kill and the power play.

“We made it hard at times … but I liked the way that when we got down, instead of folding our tent and thinking it was a mountain we couldn’t climb, we went to work.”

Vancouver scored on its first two shots on goal. The Giants got on the board just 28 seconds into the game when Mitch Bartley converted a 2-on-1 feed from Tim Kraus to beat Armstrong from the slot.

Just 32 seconds later, Giants star Gilbert Brule got his fourth goal in as many games with an unassisted goal off a turnover from Spokane defenseman Evan Haw. Brule hopped on the loose puck just inside the blue line and beat Armstrong to the five-hole.

“It’s kind of tough,” Armstrong said, “but then again, you can’t worry about it because look what happened. We battled back and won the game.”

The Chiefs were outshot 16-5 in the first period and put themselves on the penalty kill three times for a total of 5 minutes, 56 seconds, yet trailed only 2-0 after one.

Vancouver tried to bury the struggling home team with another quick goal to start the second period. Off the opening face-off, Cody Franson converted a wrist shot from the right slot in a 2-on-1 at the 10-second mark to make it 3-0.

Grabner then helped to ignite a Spokane comeback with a goal and an assist as the Chiefs reeled off three unanswered goals before the end of the period. The Chiefs got goals from Grabner (at 2:37); Johannes Salmonsson (at 9:49); and leading scorer Derek Ryan (on a 4-on-3 power play at 11:23).

Spokane finally took the lead for the first time in the game at the 3:11 mark of the final period. That’s when the Chiefs converted a 5-on-3 opportunity after a pair of Vancouver penalties.

Brad Erickson put in a feed from Adam Hobson while camped out in the crease, giving the Chiefs a reason to believe they could end the streak. Rookie Drayson Bowman got one of his two assists on the goal.

Chiefs 5, Giants 3

First Period—1, Van, Bartley 22 (Kraus, Albers) :28; 2, Van, Brule 4 1:00.

Second Period—3, Van, Franson 11 (Parker) :10; 4, Spo, Grabner 14 (Bowman) 2:37; 5, Spo, Salmonsson 7 (Magistrale) 9:49; 6, Spo, Ryan 17 (Bowman) 11:23 (pp).

Third Period—7, Spo, Erickson 9 (Grabner, Hobson) 3:11 (pp); 8, Grabner (en) 19:35.

Power-play Opp.—Vancouver 0 of 6; Spokane 2 of 8. Saves—Vancouver, Slade 19 saves. Spokane, Armstrong 37 saves. A—3,925