Spokane Chiefs outshoot Prince George, fall 4-2 due to solid goalkeeping

The Spokane Chiefs outshot and outchanced the Prince George Cougars in Western Hockey League action Friday at the Arena.

The only problem was the Chiefs couldn’t outscore them. Taylor Gauthier, Prince George’s veteran goalie, stood on his head and stopped 28 shots as the Cougars came away with a 4-2 win.

The Chiefs also didn’t do themselves any favors by giving Prince George a 5-on-3 power play in the second period. To make matters worse, two 20-year-old penalty killers – Bear Hughes and Luke Toporowski – were the ones in the penalty box.

Prince George got two power -play goals on six opportunities, including one on the 5-on-3. Spokane scored one man-adventage marker on three opportunities. The Chiefs outshot Prince George 30-22 for the game.

Still, the chances Spokane had were a positive for head coach Adam Maglio.

“To be honest, I liked our game. We were coming off a tough one in Everett (Wednesday night),” Maglio said. “It came down to special teams tonight. They just scored one more on special teams and had a couple bounces that I didn’t like how they went.”

The Chiefs had a 2-1 lead after one period thanks to goals from Carter Streek and Jack Finley. Streek carried the puck into the zone and finessed his way past a couple of defenders to snipe one past Gauthier.

After Jonny Hooker tied it for Prince George on the power play at 10:29, Finley scored a power -play goal when he one-timed a Hughes pass and sailed it over Gauthier’s shoulder.

Hudson Thornton made Spokane pay on 5-on-3 at 8:38 of the second to tie the game. Spokane didn’t score again.

Connor Bowie and Carter MacAdams got third -period goals for Prince George.

“We came out fast and then we took a couple penalties and our special teams weren’t great,” Finley said. “I think it just comes down to our work ethic. We just have to work harder. We’ve been down in games before and we have to be more desperate then we were tonight.”

Streek’s goal was his third of the season. He’s been a nice addition for Spokane after coming from the Saskatoon Blades. The 17-year-old gives Spokane some speed on the wing and plays both the power play and the penalty kill.

“I like his game. He’s got good energy,” Maglio said. “In minor hockey, I think he was a real good goal-scorer and I think he was snakebit before he came to us. Now you can see his offense has really picked up. We’ve really liked him ever since he’s been here. He’s a solid player for us his speed and shiftiness give him a knack for scoring.”

The Chiefs finally played with a full lineup , thanks to the return from injury of veteran Erik Atchison. Forward Kooper Gizowski and defenseman Saige Weinstein both returned from competing for Canada at a U17 tournament. Spokane still has key players injured, but icing four full forward lines was a luxury it hadn’t had in a while.

“You could see the energy with the lines. We were able to manage the game as far as shift length and rolling out lines,” Maglio said.

The Chiefs hope other players return soon, because Finley will be off to Canada’s World Juniors camp on Thursday.

“It’s a great honor to be recognized in that camp,” he said. “Just being able to represent your country is a huge honor. There’s some unbelievable guys going to that camp and for me I’m excited to compete with them.”

The Chiefs are back on the Arena ice Saturday against the Seattle Thunderbirds for the annual Teddy Bear Toss game.