Chiefs storm back for road victory

MEDICINE HAT, Alberta – Mitch Holmberg finished with a hat trick, Collin Valcourt added a pair of goals and the Spokane Chiefs staked Medicine Hat to a two-goal lead before storming back with five unanswered goals en route to a 6-3 victory over the Tigers in Western Hockey League action Saturday night at Medicine Hat Arena.

The Chiefs are 2-1-1 after four games of a season-long six-game road trip. Spokane (13-8-2-2, 30 points) began the trip looking for its first win away from home.

Medicine Hat (16-11-2-2, 36) took a 2-0 lead in the first period on Matthew Konan’s power-play score at the 6:59 mark and Emerson Etem’s goal with 16 seconds remaining.

Brenden Kichton halved the lead with a power-play goal at 16:03 in the second period. It was the third straight game he has scored with a man advantage.

The floodgates opened for Spokane in the third period.

Holmberg scored just 55 seconds in to knot the score. Valcourt gave Spokane a 3-2 lead with a power-play netter at the 7:14 mark.

Holmberg picked up his second goal of the game at 13:40 to make it 4-2 and Valcourt’s seventh goal of the season came at the 15-minute mark – giving the Chiefs five straight tallies.

Jayden Hart ended Spokane’s streak when he found the net at 17:35 in the third to cut the advantage to 5-3.

But Holmberg buried his 10th goal of the season and third of the night – an empty-netter at 18:51 – for his second career hat trick.