Chiefs drop close game to Giants 2-1

Two games into the second half of the Western Hockey League season, and the Spokane Chiefs are still struggling to get wins. The Chiefs iced a young lineup again Saturday at the Arena and were unable to find enough good scoring chances in a 2-1 loss to the Vancouver Giants.

Jaden Lipinski paced Vancouver with a goal and an assist. Brett Mirwald stopped 32 shots in the win.

The Chiefs had two 15-year-olds in the lineup, and the fourth line featured two 16-year-old rookies and a 15-year-old. The Chiefs outshot Vancouver 33-29 but couldn’t solve Mirwald.

The game goes down as a loss in the standings, but Spokane head coach Ryan Smith still thought his team played well enough to win.

“We created some opportunities for ourselves, but I thought their goalie played quite well,” he said. “We didn’t have enough traffic (in front) and you have to shoot to score. You can’t miss the net, you can’t hit (the goaltender) in the belly. You have to pick corners and make moves. We didn’t do enough of that.”

Lipinski opened the scoring at 12:19 of the first, beating Spokane goaltender Dawson Cowan. Vancouver made it 2-0 when Ethan Semeniuk scored on an odd man rush.

Chase Bertholet got Spokane within one at 5:30 of the third with his team-leading 16th goal of the season. Spokane threatened late with the extra attacker but couldn’t find the net.

Spokane also took five penalties, and while they killed every one, it disrupted the flow of the game. Taking too many penalties has been a problem at times for Spokane, and some penalties came at inopportune times.

“The offensive zone penalties kill us, and that’s selfish play,” Smith said. “Once we get four or five (penalties) it just ruins the flow of the game. We want everybody to play and not everybody plays on the penalty kill.”

Even in a loss, Cowan played solid in net, making 27 saves.

“I don’t fault him on the goals,” Smith said. “The first one is kind of a breakaway down the side and the other goal ricochets off a body and goes in. That’s just puck luck. Both goalies were good and that’s one of the reasons it was 2-1.”

Hayden Paupanekis, a 15-year-old called up this week, skated on the fourth line with 16-year-olds Cameron Parr and Cole Wadsworth. Paupenekis didn’t show up on the scoresheet but fit right in during his limited ice time.

“It’s a lot to ask for these guys to come up and play in the guts of the season. Hayden was strong on the boards, moved well through the neutral zone and was pretty good on the forecheck,” Smith said. “It was a good debut for him.”

Fellow 15-year-old Nathan Mayes played for the second night in a row and assisted on Bertholet’s goal.

The Chiefs struggles at home continued, as the team has only four wins at the Arena this season in 20 chances.

The Chiefs are back at the Arena Wednesday when they welcome the Everett Silvertips.