Chiefs net 5th straight win

The Spokane Chiefs picked right up where they left off.

Powered by shorthanded goals by Calder Brooks and Liam Stewart, and Garret Hughson’s stingy play in net, the Chiefs matched a season high with their fifth consecutive win Saturday night during a 5-1 decision over the Tri-City Americans.

Because of the holiday break, Spokane hadn’t played since a Dec. 17 road game. But the offense generated its third consecutive five-goal game to cheer an Arena crowd of 9,311 that hadn’t witnessed a home game in two weeks.

“Whether it was their batteries were recharged or they actually did some work over the break, we didn’t lose a beat,” Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur said. … “We’ve been playing well in the last couple of weeks. We’re starting to score some goals, which is good to see.”

Until the current 15-goals-in-three-games spree, the Chiefs had scored five or more goals in just two games this Western Hockey League season.

“Our team defense is still in order and we’re getting some depth as far as the scoring goes,” Nachbaur said. “Other guys are starting to chip in, which is really good.”

The Chiefs had scored one shorthanded goal in their 33 previous games before notching two against backup Americans goalie Evan Sarthou. Regular goalie Eric Comrie, fourth in the WHL in goals-against average, is playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.

Spokane native and Mead High student Kailer Yamamoto led the way with one goal and two assists. For his first assist, he skated behind Tri-City’s net and sent a beautiful pass out front to Brooks for the first shorthanded goal and a 2-0 lead halfway through the opening period.

“I saw (Brooks) in the corner of my eye and I didn’t know if I could make that pass right away, so I just took it around behind the net and he was wide open,” Yamamoto said. “It worked out good.”

Hughson made two spectacular saves to preserve the 2-0 first-period lead. Hughson (13-8-3-0) finished with 18 saves and was on the way to his first shutout of the season until the Americans cashed in on a 5-on-3 power play midway through the third period.

“It’s unfortunate, but we took too many penalties to preserve the shutout,” Nachbaur said. “It would have been nice if (Hughson) got that shutout.”

Dominic Zwerger, just 33 seconds into the game, and Jackson Playfair, on a second-period breakaway right after his penalty expired, scored the Chiefs’ other goals. Stewart’s shorthanded goal came at 4:53 of the final period, assisted by Yamamoto and Jason Fram.

The Americans (17-17-1-2) lost for the eighth time in 11 games. The Chiefs are 4-1-0-0 against Tri-City this season.

The Chiefs (19-12-3-0, 41 points) have won 10 of 15 to tie Portland for second place in the U.S. Division, five points behind Everett. Spokane will play its next four games on the road, including tonight at Portland.

“It’s never easy to win at Portland, even if they’re understaffed,” Nachbaur said. “We have to keep worrying about our game. Our game is what’s got us here so far.”

Spokane will return to the Arena on Jan. 7 against Portland.

First Period—1, Spo, Zwerger (Fiala, Whittingham) 0:43. 2, Brooks (Ka. Yamamoto) 9:25 (sh). Second Period—3, Spo, Playfair (laday) 5:40. 4, Ka Yamamoto (Brooks, Helewka) 15:31 (pp). Third Period—Third period—5, Stewart (Ka. Yamamoto, Fram) 4:53 (sh). 6, Tri, Nejezchleb (Bowles, Hamonic) 9:37 (pp). Power-play Opp.—Tri-City 1-6; Spokane 1-5. Saves—Tri-City, Sarthou 9-11-10—30. Spokane, Hughson 8-5-5—18.