Chiefs clinch playoff berth
It was the easiest goal Levko Koper has ever scored, but it went a long way in helping the Spokane Chiefs put away a difficult opponent.
Koper, a 17-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta, took advantage of a crazy ricochet off the boards to score the go-ahead goal Saturday night, and the Chiefs went on to turn back the Prince Albert Raiders 4-2 in a Western Hockey League game in front of an Arena crowd of 7,178.
The victory, coupled with Prince George’s Saturday night loss to Lethbridge, clinched a playoff berth for the Chiefs (35-10-1-3), who maintained their slim lead over the Tri-City Americans in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference.
Koper’s goal, his ninth of the year, came on a power play late in the second period from directly in front of Prince Albert’s empty net. Raiders goaltender Dustin Butler had vacated the area just moments earlier in an attempt to clear the puck from behind his goal, but watched his clearing pass bounce crazily off the boards and directly to Koper. Koper then nudged it home for a crucial score that provided the Chiefs (35-10-1-3) with a much-needed momentum swing.
“That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me,” Koper said of his kick-in goal that came in answer to the two Prince Albert (16-30-3-2) had scored earlier in the period. “The puck was actually bouncing a lot and I got to thinking, ‘Man, if I miss this shot, I’ll get a hard pounding from the boys for a long time.’ “
But Koper was able to stop the puck, score the goal and avoid any hazing from his teammates.
“Go-ahead goals like that are always crucial,” he added. “It calms the boys down and makes things a little easier.”
Chiefs coach Bill Peters admitted his team caught a “lucky break,” but also liked the way it took advantage of it and then added an insurance goal midway through the final period. The Chiefs also limited Prince Albert to just five shots.
“That was a tough thing that ends up being the game-winning goal,” he said of the wicked bounce that did in the Raiders. “And when you’re on the road, that’s tough to overcome. It was an unfortunate break for them, but we took advantage of it.”
Spokane took charge early in the game outshooting Prince Albert 17-8 and opening a 2-0 lead in the first period. Mitch Wahl scored the Chiefs’ first goal by punching the puck past Butler from the middle of a scrum in front of the net a little more than 8½ minutes into the game. Judd Blackwater added the second goal almost 10 minutes later by beating Butler with a slap shot from between the circles.
Prince Albert got aggressive in the second period, peppering Spokane goalie Dustin Tokarski with 13 shots and tying the game, briefly, on goals by Ryan McDonald and Devon LeBlanc. McDonald’s came on a breakaway off a turnover a little less than 6 minutes into the period. LeBlanc scored from point-blank range after taking a nifty behind-the-net pass from Ryan White just as Spokane’s Justin Falk was skating back on the ice after serving a 2-minute penalty for cross checking.
“I thought we were good early,” Peters said. “We came out and set the tone for the game. I didn’t like our second period, but you’ve got to give (the Raiders) a lot of credit. They competed hard and capitalized on a turnover for their first goal, and then made a nice play on the goal that came at the end of the power play.”
After Koper put Spokane up for good, teammate Tyler Johnson added a third-period power-play goal that capped the scoring.