Spokane Chiefs hold off Prince George 3-2, force Game 5 in first-round matchup | WHL playoffs

No team wants to be eliminated on their home ice. Yet, the Spokane Chiefs were faced with that prospect on Wednesday after falling behind Prince George 3-0 in their best-of-seven Western Hockey League Western Conference first-round matchup.

The Chiefs came out with a renewed energy in Game 4 at the Arena, played their best hockey in the series and staved off elimination – for at least one more game.

And they seized their motivation by killing a five-minute major penalty in the first period.

Owen Martin, Assanali Sarkenov and Gavin Burcar scored goals, Carter Esler made 23 saves and the Spokane Chiefs topped the Prince George Cougars 3-2 to force Game 5 at the Arena on Thursday at 6:05 p.m.

Spokane outshot its visitor 45-25, went 44-24 on faceoffs and 2 for 2 on the penalty kill, but went 0 for 6 on the power play. 

“We played a little bit of a desperate game,” Chiefs coach Brad Lauer said. “That’s what we’ve got to understand. We took it period by period, didn’t look too far ahead. I thought our team game was much better, our energy level was much better and I thought there was a lot more compete to our game.”

The Chiefs were up 3-1 late, but nothing has been easy for them this season, and PG forward Lee Shurgot completed a tic-tac-toe from in close to make it a one-goal game with 1:40 left in the game. PG pulled Western Conference first-team goalie Joshua Ravensbergen (41 saves) with one minute to go, but the Chiefs withstood a barrage of shots to hold on to the win.

“I think just sticking to what we do best, and it worked out for us tonight,” captain Will McIsaac said. “We got a couple lucky bounces but I thought we played a good full 60 (minutes). That’s kind of the result there.”

“I think the message in the room was just ‘Do or die,’” Martin said. “We had to give everything we’ve got. It was a big win. Obviously that five-minute kill and adding that shorty was huge. It gave us momentum for the whole night.”

The Chiefs were beneficiaries of an early power play when PG’s Brock Souch was sent off for high-sticking 45 seconds into the game, but they were able to generate just one shot on goal.

The physical play picked up midway through the first period and Chiefs forward Coco Armstrong got too zealous, taking a five-minute major cross-checking penalty and game misconduct at 9:14 of the first.

It was the Chiefs that picked up momentum from the call. Logan Wormald picked off a pass in the defensive end, skated it into the PG zone and hit Martin through the slot with speed. Martin then slotted a backhander past PG goalie Joshua Ravensbergen for the game’s first goal and his second of the series.

“It was a great pass from ‘Worm,’” Martin said. “Short-handed 2-on-1 doesn’t happen too often. You get that chance you want to capitalize.”

The Chiefs killed off the major penalty, with Esler making several critical saves and defenseman Nathan Mayes cleaning up a puck off the goal line with 30 seconds left in the infraction.

“The five minutes, that tough right there,” McIsaac said. “But I thought (Wormald and Martin) getting one for us there completely flipped the momentum for us. I think our kill has been pretty consistent all year long, but (the shorthanded goal) definitely boosted our confidence there a little bit.”

“It was a retaliatory penalty (by Armstrong). You want to control your emotions in those situations. That’s the playoffs,” Lauer said. “I thought our team did a very good job of stepping up and killing it.” 

The Chiefs got another power play attempt with 2:49 left in the period when PG defenseman Tyrone Sobry was sent off for high-sticking, but it went fruitless, and the home team took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Spokane kept the pressure on to start the second, with much of the first four minutes played in the Prince George end. But the Chiefs got trapped in their zone, with defenseman Owen Schoettler losing his stick, and Townes Kozicky banged home a backhanded rebound at 4:55 of the period for his first of the series to even it at one goal apiece.

A couple minutes later Chiefs forward Cohen Harris was called for hooking while the Chiefs were trying to exit their zone, but they were able to kill it without incident. Almost immediately after the Spokane penalty expired, PG’s Aiden Foster was sent off for boarding but the Chiefs were again not able to take advantage.

The Chiefs received their fourth power play opportunity moments later with Sobry called for holding, but Ravensbergen robbed Tyus Sparks late in the infraction with a sliding save to keep it tied.

It didn’t stay tied long. Chase Harrington checked PG defenseman Corbin Vaught to cause a loose puck in the PG zone, and it was picked up by Sarkenov, whose second whack at it slipped past Ravensbergen for his second of the series with 4:44 left in the period.

Sarkenov, a second-year import player from Kazakhstan, scored just four goals in 42 games this season – after registering nine in 20 playoff games last season. 

“Last year in the playoffs (Sarkenov) played extremely well for us,” Lauer said. “This year he’s been in and out of the lineup, a little bit of inconsistency in his game. But right now in the playoffs he’s played well for us. He’s a big body that plays hard and when he’s playing a ‘north-south game’ he’s effective.”

Spokane made it 3-1 less than a minute later when Burcar carried in on the right wing and his wrist shot fooled Ravensbergen and it ended up in the back of the net.

”(Armstrong) went out, so I had to step up there,” Burcar said. “But we just played our game, our team game that we always fall back on and sticking to that is good. I was just able to get it done there.”

With 1:28 left in the stanza PG defenseman Arsenii Anisimov was sent off for trying to provoke a post-whistle scrum. The Chiefs didn’t tack one on at the end of the period and took a two-goal lead into the third.

The Chiefs got their sixth power play chance with 13:55 left in the third, but it was more of a defensive effort, and with 10:32 left Sparks split the defense and earned a penalty shot – but Ravensbergen was up to the task.

Spokane went into shut-down mode from there, with three Chiefs converging any time the Cougars crossed the blue line.

PG pulled Ravensbergen with three minutes to go for an extra attacker, and Esler immediately gobbled up another loose puck in the crease. But Shurgot’s goal at 18:20 from Souch and Kooper Gizowski put the Chiefs on the edge a bit down the stretch. 

“It’s a little bit of a scramble – 6 on 5 is a little bit chaotic every time,” McIsaac said. “But just clearing guys out front, blocking shots and we pulled it out there.”