Bowman flies high during opening weekend

Ray Whitney had a question for Drayson Bowman – one that only a former Spokane Chief could ask.

He wanted to know how the Boone Street barn was.

Bowman, an 18-year-old veteran forward for the Chiefs and a third-round pick of Carolina in this year’s NHL draft, left Raleigh, N.C., at 5:30 a.m. (Eastern time) last Thursday after his first camp with the Hurricanes. In camp he met the Hurricanes’ Whitney, a former Chief who played when Spokane’s home was at the Coliseum, also known as the Boone Street barn.

Twenty-two hours and five airplanes later, Bowman joined the rest of the Spokane Chiefs (2-0) for their season-opening series in northern British Columbia against the Prince George Cougars.

The Littleton, Colo., native went right to work, scoring three goals and assisting on three as the Chiefs won their first two games of the season.

“He’s a legit top-six forward and he’d be a top-six forward on any team in the league,” said Chiefs coach Bill Peters. “He’s gotten stronger over the summer, he’s committed to being a pro, and he’s got himself off to a good start. … He’s a very dangerous player when he has the puck.”

Even after the extensive travel schedule, Bowman wasn’t jet-lagged.

“I felt really good, which I was little bit surprised about to be honest,” said Bowman, who was the left-winger on the Chiefs’ first line with center Chris Bruton and right wing Mitch Wahl.

“So far, it’s a good combination,” Bowman said. “We’re really working well together and finding each other, and we seemed to click right off the bat.”

It was just the kind of weekend the Chiefs were hoping to have.

“We really progressed as a team from the preseason, and then brought that forward to where it matters most – the regular season,” team captain Bruton said. “We definitely did what we wanted to do this weekend, and that’s come out with four points.”

Lining up

One of the Chiefs’ key strengths this season will be their depth on offense, which was evident in their first two games.

“We were able to get good contributions from all four lines and it didn’t matter to us to match up with their perceived No. 1 or 2 lines,” said Peters. “We just kept everybody fresh and I thought we got the payoff in game two in the second half. We looked like a fresher team and were able to play everybody.”

The line combinations were: Bowman, Bruton and Wahl; Ondrej Roman, David Rutherford and Judd Blackwater; Levko Koper, Tyler Johnson and Chris Langkow; and Cody Esposito, Seth Compton and Curtis Kelner, with Dustin Donaghy playing instead of Esposito on Saturday.

Peters was particularly impressed with the Koper-Johnson-Langkow combination.

“They really did a good job of getting the puck in deep and wearing out their defense,” he said. “We got contributions throughout the lineup.”

An ‘Army’ of one

The original plan was to split starts for Chiefs goalies Kevin “Army” Armstrong and Dustin Tokarski.

Plans changed after Armstrong’s performance Friday.

Armstrong had 22 saves in the Chiefs’ 5-2 season-opening victory, earning him the right to start on Saturday night.

Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz said the netminder was “arguably the difference for us on Friday night.”

Peters agreed.

“We contemplated splitting goaltenders, but ‘Army’ was so good on Friday,” he said. “When we broke down (in the first game), we broke down in a big way. … He made some huge saves to prevent them from tying the game or getting them within one, and we decided to reward him with a second start.”

Notes

Forward David Rutherford, who had a hat trick on Saturday night in the Chiefs’ 7-2 victory, is day-to-day with a groin injury and may be unavailable for Saturday’s game at Kootenay.