Regina’s second-period outburst downs Spokane Chiefs

REGINA, Saskatchewan – The Regina Pats scored three times in the second period and beat the Spokane Chiefs 4-2 in a penalty-filled affair on Friday in Western Hockey League action.

The game was the first of six that the Chiefs will play on their every-other-year trip through the Eastern Conference.

Austin Wagner scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season and Jake Leschyshyn added his sixth – all shorthanded – for the Pats (8-0-3-0, 19 points).

Regina’s Luc Smith started the scoring at 6 minutes, 31 seconds of the first with his second of the campaign. Spokane’s Curtis Miske evened the count, his fourth of the season, on a power play with just more than 5 minutes to play in the frame.

The Pats couldn’t stay out of the box in the second, but it didn’t matter. Wagner scored his first with Dawson Leedahl sitting for tripping early in the period. He added his second at 10:52 with Filip Ahl in the box for another trip. Leschyshyn found the net on the same penalty kill a few moments later to make it 4-1.

The Chiefs’ Jeff Faith mixed it up with Riley Bruce early in the third, with Bruce taking an extra 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. Markson Bechtold and Connor Hobbs both went off for slashing 23 seconds later.

Spokane’s Ethan McIndoe scored on the resulting power play, assisted by Ty Smith and Kailer Yamamoto, to halve the deficit, but the Chiefs (3-5-1-1, eight points) got no closer, as Tanner Wishnowski, Tyson Helgeson and Koby Morrisseau all spent time in the box in the latter half of the third period.

Spokane plays in Brandon at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Fernie 5, Spokane 0: The Ghostriders (7-5-0-0-1, 15 points scored four times in the the third period and beat the Braves (4-11-0-0-0, eight points) 5-0 in KIJHL play in Fernie, British Columbia.

Trail Thompson and Jason Hambleton were both called for head contact and assessed misconduct penalties in the third period.