Chiefs take command
EVERETT – If you’re a betting person, you might consider putting money on a first-round Western Hockey League playoff series victory for the Spokane Chiefs.
They are, in more ways than one now, the odds-on favorites.
Ondrej Roman and Judd Blackwater finished with a goal and an assist each and Dustin Tokarski made 28 saves as the third-seeded Chiefs took a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference quarterfinal with a 4-1 victory over the No. 6 Everett Silvertips in front of 4,217 fans at Comcast Arena.
The lead all but ends Everett’s hope in the series, as only one team in league history has come from a 3-0 deficit to advance in the playoffs. The 1995-96 Chiefs, who trailed Portland 3-0, won four straight matches to take the first-round series.
“We just go one day at a time,” Chiefs coach Bill Peters said. “We’ve played three times and we’ve liked the results, now we’ll just gather our thoughts for game four on Friday night.”
The players were a little more willing to talk about the prospect of closing the series on Friday night in Everett and enjoying a week of relative rest before they would start the second round on April 4.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Levko Koper – who gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead with a shorthanded goal 7 minutes, 15 seconds into the first. “If they would have won they would have been right back in it, so to win this one is just a big load off our back and just shows how much dominance we’ve had in this series so far.”
That included handling a chaotic first period, in which the Chiefs killed three penalties – including 1 minute of a 5-on-3 Silvertips’ advantage.
“(The first period) was every situation imaginable presented to us and we found a way to emerge with a 1-0 lead,” said Peters. “I give our guys a lot of credit – they’re dialed in and they know what their responsibilities are and they have a lot of trust amongst each other and that’s important this time of year.”
Koper, who scored 12 goals in the regular season, broke away from Everett’s Dan Gendur in the neutral zone and went forehand to backhand for the 1-on-1 goal against Everett goalie Leland Irving.
The Chiefs’ second line teamed up to give Spokane a 2-0 lead 2:09 into the second period.
Blackwater initiated the play, dishing the puck to David Rutherford, who carried it through the neutral zone and fired in a shot from just inside the blue line. After Irving made a kick save, Roman batted in the rebound for his third goal of the series.
“It’s great when you come out with the win, especially on the road,” said Blackwater. “We’re staying disciplined, and that’s been the key for us.”
The lead was cut to one goal when Gendur scored at 14:47 in the second, but Chiefs sniper Drayson Bowman poked in the rebound of a Mitch Wahl shot at 15:20 in the third and Blackwater sank a spin-and-fire empty-net goal from the blue-line left board at 16:38 to seal the victory.
Ice chips
Ryan Letts, Brett Bartman, Jace Coyle and Blake Gal were healthy scratches for Spokane. … Roman leads the Chiefs in postseason scoring with three goals and three assists. … Elsewhere in the Western Conference, the top-seeded Tri-City Americans defeated Kamloops 6-2 to sweep their first-round series, as did the Vancouver Giants with a 2-1 victory over the Chilliwack Bruins.