Elliott delivers as Blades edge Chiefs

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan – Stefan Elliott came up big for the Saskatoon Blades in the third period and the end result was a 2-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs in Western Hockey League action at Credit Union Centre on Saturday.

Elliott scored the tying goal and assisted on the winning score for the Blades (16-6-1), who lead the East Division of the Eastern Conference.

The Chiefs (14-5-0-3) remained in first place in the U.S. Division of the Western Conference despite the loss, thanks to the Portland Winter Hawks’ 4-3 win over second-place Tri-City. The Chiefs lead the Americans by one point.

Spokane scored the first goal of the game, but it didn’t come until Mitch Wahl found the net 2 minutes, 20 seconds into the third period. Ryan Letts and Mike Reddington picked up assists. It was Wahl’s 13th goal of the season.

The Blades bounced back to knot the score when Elliott, with assists from Chris Langkow and Adam Chomeyko, found the net at the 8:11 mark for his 10th goal of the season.

Elliott delivered again when he passed to Milan Kytnar, who drilled the winner with just 1:52 remaining in regulation play. It was Kytnar’s fifth goal of the year.

The loss put an end to Spokane’s three-game winning streak. It was the second game of seven straight road contests for the Chiefs.

Spokane goalie Dustin Tokarski stopped 34 of 36 shots on the night, while his Saskatoon counterpart Braden Holtby turned away 23 of 24 shots on goal.

Spokane was unsuccessful on its two power-play opportunities, while Saskatoon whiffed on all three of its chances with a man advantage.

The Chiefs return to action Tuesday at 5 p.m. when they take on the Brandon Wheat Kings, who are off to a 12-9-1-0 start.