Calgary storms back in third period, tops Chiefs
The Helgesen family knew that their son would be on the winning team Friday, but for most of the night they probably assumed that team would be the Spokane Chiefs.
Kenton Helgesen assisted on Colby Harmsworth’s winning goal with 7 minutes, 22 seconds left as the Calgary Hitmen capped a three-goal third period to rally past the Chiefs 4-3 at the Arena.
“We didn’t have the start we wanted today, but I thought our guys showed a lot of character coming back,” said Helgesen, a 20-year-old left wing and Anaheim Ducks draftee. “We dug deep and as soon as we got that first one, we knew we’d be rolling.”
The Chiefs, with 17-year-old defenseman Tyson Helgesen on their roster, led 3-1 with 15:03 left but couldn’t stop the Hitmen (35-18-1-4, 75 points) from winning for the 12th time in 13 games and moving within two points of first place in the Western Hockey League’s Central Division.
“I thought we played hard through 2½ periods and then, when it was 3-1, we took the easy way out,” Chiefs coach Don Nachbaur said. “…Against a good team, boy did they make us pay the price. We had no resistance on those three goals in the third period.”
The game turned when the teams played 4-on-4 hockey for 2 minutes of the third period. Micheal Zipp cut Spokane’s lead to 3-2 with a slap shot from the top of the circle at 6:23 and Elliott Peterson tied the game at 7:48 by sneaking the puck past game Chiefs goalie Garret Hughson.
Adam Tambellini, the game’s No. 1 star with two assists, set up the winner, Harmsworth’s second goal of the season, with a backhanded pass from near the corner.
“We know they’re a good team and we got basically what we deserved,” Nachbaur said. “If we had played 60 minutes, we would have sealed that deal.”
The Chiefs (27-26-3-1, 58 points) dropped to 6-14-0-1 for 2015, but their injury situation is slightly improving. Two crucial players, center Calder Brooks and defenseman Nick Charif, came off the injury list after long spells with upper-body injuries. Brooks assisted on Kailer Yamamoto’s goal that gave Spokane its 3-1 lead.
Spokane stands in fourth place in the U.S. Division, one point ahead of Tri-City after it defeated division-leading Everett in a shootout Friday. The Chiefs and Americans are attempting to hold off Prince George and Kamloops, both with 50 points, for the last two berths to the WHL playoffs.
The Helgesen family traveled from Fairview, Alberta, 5-6 hours north of Edmonton, for the first matchup between brothers.
“It was a pretty special experience,” Kenton said. “I’ve never really played against him. … It was kind of cool. We were kind of hitting each other a few times and getting into it.”
Calgary played the first contest in a franchise-long 11-game road trip, necessitated because their arena is holding a curling event.
Ice chips
Before the game, the Chiefs honored Mick Vukota and Steve Junker, new members in the club’s “Top 30 in 30 (years)” list. Barry Brust, Michael Grabner and Brenden Kichton were also selected. … Defenseman Matt Sozanski’s upper-body injury is now listed as season-ending.