Shea Van Olm ties it late, adds overtime winner; Spokane Chiefs edge Wenatchee 4-3

After losing Saturday in overtime, the Spokane Chiefs wanted to bounce back with a good effort playing a rare Tuesday night game at home. The Wenatchee Wild – currently outside the Western Hockey League playoff picture – gave the Chiefs more resistance than they might have expected – or wanted. 

But with their backs against the wall late, the Chiefs relied on a player that’s been there before – this season, and in the playoffs. 

Shea Van Olm tied it late in regulation, then netted the game-winner with 2:08 left in overtime, and the Spokane Chiefs beat the Wenatchee Wild 4-3 at the Arena on Tuesday. 

The two goals were Van Olm’s league-leading 41st and 42nd of the season. 

Berkly Catton and Brayden Crampton added goals for the Chiefs, who have won five of their last six games. 

The Chiefs (35-16-1-0, 71 points) outshot Wenatchee (18-28-5-1, 42 points) 35-18, including 9-3 in the third period. Spokane is 10 points behind Everett (37-9-4-3, 81 points) in the U.S. Division and Western Conference with 16 games to go – including two at home with Everett in March.

“Obviously, it wasn’t our best game for of the year by any means,” Chiefs coach Brad Lauer said. “I thought we worked hard, but I didn’t think we executed very well. But at the end of the day, we found a way to tie the game up, and then, obviously, in overtime, it was nice to see that goal to get the win.”

Van Olm, who played in the Memorial Cup tournament for Lauer while the pair was with Edmonton in 2022, tied it with 30 seconds left in the game, scoring from close quarters on an assist by Assanali Sarkenov as the Chiefs played with an extra attacker. The 3-on-3 overtime winner came with just more than 2 minutes to go when he converted a two-on-one with Berkly Catton.

“With Berkly, I knew the whole time he was going to slide it over, so I just had to bang it in,” Van Olm said. “I thought we had a pretty tough start. But it’s always nice to battle back and win a comeback game like that.”

The Chiefs have played a string of some of the tops teams in the WHL over the past two weeks, and Wenatchee provided a reasonable facsimile of the same despite its record. Combined with the unusual Tuesday start, it made for a bit of a disjointed game at times.

“A lot of guys say ‘trap game’ on a Tuesday night. Obviously, it’s a little bit quieter,” Lauer said. “But we had a good crowd. I just think our guys were a little bit flat. There’s no excuse for it and they know it. They know we didn’t play well. And saying that, let’s give the other team credit too – they worked hard.”

“It’s up to us. We have to have to have a better start and then stick with our habits and details,” Van Olm said. “Playing on the weekday is something we do in this league, so it doesn’t really matter if it’s Friday night or Tuesday night. Just got to be ready all the time.”

The Chiefs had the better of play early but had little to show for it until a late power play in the first period. Catton carried the puck to the blue line and tossed to Owen Martin, who gave it back to Catton streaking through the slot. Catton’s deft backhander beat Wild goalie Brendan Gee for his 30th goal of the season and seventh in his past three games.  

Some uncharacteristic undisciplined play hurt the Chiefs in the early stages of the second period. 

Just 3 minutes in, Cam Parr was called for checking to the head and on the ensuing power play, Wenatchee forward Evan Friesen scored his 22nd goal of the season, depositing a rebound right in front of Chiefs goalie Dawson Cowan. 

The Chiefs were assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the goal, and the Wild made them pay. Just 26 seconds later Dawson Seitz maneuvered along the right wing boards then fed Lukas McCloskey alone in the slot, whose one-timer beat Cowan for his fifth goal of the season and a 2-1 lead. 

The Chiefs had several extended possessions to start the third and it paid off when Brayden Crampton’s shot from the right point trickled through Gee for his sixth of the season at 5:13 of the period. 

Later in the third, the Chiefs got caught in their own end and paid for it when defenseman Brendan Dunphy’s shot from the left wing dot got through Cowan for just his second goal of the season with 7:48 to go. 

“I thought maybe our D could have came out in the shooting lane a bit more, but (Dunphy) got it on net really quick,” Lauer said. “And it’s just one of those things that sneak through. We tell our guys all the time, ‘Get pucks on the net.’ You never know what’s going to happen.”

The Chiefs play at Tri-City on Friday, then host the Americans at the Arena on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.

Total recall: The Chiefs called up 15-year-old forward Ossie McIntyre for this week’s games. The St. Albert, Alberta native rejoined the team as an Affiliated Player. McIntyre has a goal and three assists in seven WHL games this season. 

The 2024 seventh-overall pick has piled up 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) in 30 games this season with the St. Albert Raiders U18 AAA squad of the AEHL.