Chiefs fight until end, but are eliminated

It wasn’t over until the end.

David Linsley rushed the puck up ice as the final seconds of the game ticked off; he put a shot on net; and a trailing teammate, Johannes Salmonsson, put a shot on net which was denied.

Then, literally, the final buzzer sounded – on the game and the Spokane Chiefs’ playoff hopes for this season.

The Seattle Thunderbirds posted a 3-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs on Wednesday night at the Arena which eliminated the Chiefs from the U.S. Division playoff race.

Seattle built an advantage and held on, taking a 1-0 lead at the 14:47 mark of the first when Aaron Gagnon scored a short-handed goal.

On the play, Gagnon got behind the Spokane defense for a breakaway opportunity on Spokane goaltender Thomas Stehr, which he converted.

Seattle made it 2-0 after two periods in much the same fashion. At the 6:40 mark of the second, Ryan Gibbons plucked away a Chiefs turnover for a 2-on-0 opportunity, which he got past Stehr. Stehr would hand the T-Birds their next goal, also short-handed.

At the 3:28 mark of the third, just as Spokane was showing life, Stehr made a stop on a Seattle shot and thought he had the puck in his grasp. However, he had dropped it and it fell behind him and into crease where it was tapped in by Bud Holloway to make it 3-0.

Spokane would not give up, though, particularly forwards Derek Ryan and Michael Grabner. They closed the deficit to one goal with a pair of goals in the next 10 minutes to make it a game.

First, Grabner was held up on a breakaway opportunity and was awarded a penalty shot at the 7:50 mark of the third. He took the puck at center ice, went in on Seattle goaltender Bryan Bridges, and buried a backhand shot to give the Chiefs a long-awaited goal.

Then Ryan willed a goal into the net at the 13:20 mark on a feed from Salmonsson. He stayed camped out in the crease and hacked at a puck until it found its way through Bridges’ pads.

But Spokane (21-38-5-3, 50 points) would fall back into some bad habits in losing its 12th straight, committing two penalties down the stretch which saw it play 4:00 of the final 6:40 on the penalty kill. The last one, with 2:10 remaining for too many men on the ice, was a killer.

T-Birds 3, Chiefs 2

First Period—1, Sea, Gagnon 22 (Scurko, Jackson) 14:47 (sh). Second Period—2, Sea, Gibbons 18 (Johnson, Pess) 16:40. Third Period—3, Sea, Holloway 16 3:28 (sh). 4, Spo, Grabner 29 (pen/sh); 5, Spo, Ryan 23 (Salmonsson, Lynch) 13:20.

Power-play Opp.—Seattle 0 of 0; Spokane 0 of 0. Saves—Seattle, Bridges 27 saves. Spokane, Stehr 27 saves. A—4,617.