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Spokane Chiefs

Spokane Chiefs drop second straight one-goal game to Prince George 4-3

Spokane Chiefs forward Mathis Preston scores a power play goal against the Prince George Cougars on Oct. 4, 2025 at the Spokane Arena. (Larry Brunt)
By Dave Nichols daven@spokesman.com(509) 459-5441

The Spokane Chiefs have had a bit of an uneven start to the 2025-26 Western Hockey League season, with returning players adjusting to new roles on and off the ice and youngsters trying to find their place in the lineup.

It’s not easy replacing all five of the team’s top scorers from last season’s Western Conference championship squad.

And while the Chiefs still await a decision on captain Berkly Catton, who is doing his best to make the Seattle Kraken’s opening night roster, the on-ice results still haven’t quite caught up to their lofty early billing as one of the WHL’s top teams.

After losing a penalty-filled game on Friday at the Arena to Prince George on a late power-play goal, the young Chiefs were anxious Saturday to dish out some retribution to their visitors in the second of the back-to-back games.

But revenge will have to wait until a future date.

Defenseman Bauer Dumanski scored his first goal of the season with less than three minutes left in the game and the Chiefs fell the Cougars for the second night in a row 4-3.

“(Prince George) is good, they’re big, they’re heavy, you know, they played well this week,” Chiefs coach Brad Lauer said. “It was a good matchup for us to see where we’re at.”

The Chiefs power play, ranked last in the league by a considerable margin, went 1 for 5.

“It’s not good enough,” Lauer said. “We had the best power play in the league last year and we’re returning a good chunk of our guys from last season that were on it, and it’s their responsibility to make sure this thing is going.”

Prince George (4-0-0-0) led 1-0 after one on a power play goal by Jett Lajoie. The Chiefs (2-3-0-0) answered with a pair 1:34 apart in the second period, with Smyth Redman scoring his first and Mathis Preston his fourth, which came on a power play. PG got a goal by Kooper Gizowski moments later and the game was tied 2-2 after two.

Coco Armstrong gave the Chiefs a lead early in the third period with his fourth of the season, but PG tied it moments later on a power play goal by Aiden Foster.