Pedal to the metal
LETHBRIDGE, Alberta – Rush-hour traffic and an out of position goalie on Tuesday night put rookie Tyler Johnson in the driver’s seat. With a speedy swing of his stick, the Spokane product gave the Spokane Chiefs sight of the checkered flag.
Johnson scored 6 minutes, 20 seconds into overtime to give the Chiefs a 2-1 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes in front of 4,950 Enmax Center fans. The Chiefs have a 3-0 stranglehold on the best-of-7 Western Hockey League championship series. With one more victory, the Chiefs will bring home the Ed Chynoweth Cup and earn a trip to Kitchener, Ontario, for the Memorial Cup tournament.
“I just threw the puck in front of the net there and then (Curtis Kelner) and (Levko) Koper were just battling,” said Johnson of his fourth playoff goal. “(Lethbridge goalie Juha) Metsola just got out of position and I just banged it home. Pretty lucky by me, but I’ll take it. It’s wonderful.”
Also wonderful was the individual effort of Chiefs captain Chris Bruton, who knotted the score with 2 minutes remaining in regulation.
Forward Justin McCrae chipped the puck to Bruton from the Chiefs’ offensive blue line before taking a hard hit from Hurricanes forward Colton Sceviour that left a postgame question mark as to whether or not McCrae will dress for Game 4 tonight. Bruton drove down the right lane from the top of the circle and went forehand to backhand before lifting the puck past Metsola to force overtime.
“They were real tight and good defensively all game,” Chiefs coach Bill Peters said of the Hurricanes, who turned in a much-improved performance after Spokane dominated the first two games of the series. “Great individual play there – clutch play by a clutch player at a key time, and that’s what it’s all about.”
The Chiefs had a solid start to the game, holding the Canes to zero shots on goalie Dustin Tokarski – who finished with 22 saves in his 15th victory of this year’s playoffs – until midway through the opening period.
But the Canes were noticeably more aggressive – laying heavy hits on the Chiefs and finding a visible momentum that was nearly absent in Games 1 and 2 last Friday and Saturday at the Arena. They finally were able to convert, using a skillful screen on Tokarski that allowed Dwight King to score from the top of the left circle with 3 seconds remaining in the second period.
“I thought we had a great game tonight,” said Canes coach Michael Dyck. “We came out and played the way that we have all year long and certainly, I think, changed the momentum of the series.”
Spokane was 0 for 1 on the power play while the Canes were 0 for 3. A holding call on Johnson with 18 seconds remaining in regulation left the Chiefs down a man for the first 1:42 of overtime.
During that span, Lethbridge’s Mitch Fadden hit a post that rebounded at a generous angle for Zach Boychuk in the low slot. Boychuk pulled the trigger, and veteran Chiefs defenseman Jared Spurgeon took a bullet that kept the puck away from Tokarski. Eventually the puck was cleared out Spokane’s zone and the Chiefs killed the penalty.
“We had a great opportunity on a power play to get that back, hit a goal post, and they took advantage of their opportunity at the other end,” said Dyck.
“I had full confidence in my team,” Johnson said. “We played great today – the (penalty kill) was outstanding. It was bad taking that penalty, and I regret that, but it was wonderful for them to bail me out there.”
Not as wonderful as driving back to Spokane with the franchise’s first league title since 1991 would be, though.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice being up 3-0 (in the series) – it is, and we’ve earned that,” said Bruton.
Ice chips
After allowing nine goals in the first two games of the series, Metsola stopped 24 shots and earned the first-star nod. … Chiefs overage forward Judd Blackwater, a Lethbridge native, had his league-high five-game goal scoring streak snapped. Blackwater nearly scored, hitting a post late in the third – 40 seconds prior to Bruton’s goal. Drayson Bowman had goals in his last three games.