Zach Benson scores hat trick to lead ICE past Chiefs

From staff reports

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Each time the Spokane Chiefs took a step forward on the scoreboard, the Winnipeg Ice knocked them two steps back.

Zach Benson posted a hat trick, and Conor Geekie added two goals for Winnipeg in a 6-3 win over the Chiefs in a Western Hockey League game on Friday night.

Spokane’s Tommaso De Luca scored the first of his two goals just 83 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead, but Geekie tallied his first goal 37 seconds later to even the game at 1-all.

Benson’s first goal at 3:37 in the opening period gave the Ice a 2-1 lead before the Chiefs’ Carter Streek knotted the score at 2-2 with a goal 13:05 into the second period.

Benson scored 44 seconds into the third period to give Winnipeg the lead for good, and Geekie added an insurance goal for a 4-2 lead at the 7:37 mark.

De Luca scored again at 12:22 to pull Spokane within 4-3, but Benson (16:53) and Vladislav Shilo (18:45) put the game away with respective goals for the Ice.

Spokane goaltender Cooper Michaluk made 38 saves.

Winnipeg’s Daniel Hauser stopped 25 shots.