Sam Oremba scores twice, Spokane Chiefs cruise to 7-2 win over second-place Penticton

It’s games like this that make everyone involved with the Spokane Chiefs believe that they not only can qualify for the playoffs but also make some noise once they get there. 

The Chiefs dominated long stretches of the game against a solid opponent and cruised to a 7-2 victory over the expansion Penticton Vees in a Western Hockey League game at the Arena on Wednesday. 

Sam Oremba scored two goals, Tyus Sparks had a goal with an assist, and Owen Martin had three helpers. Goalie Linus Vieillard made 21 saves for his 12th win of the season. He’s given up two goals or fewer in six of his last nine games. 

The Vees (31-11-4-3) are solidly in second place in the Western Conference, while the Chiefs (24-23-1-0) remain in ninth place in the conference, one point behind Victoria in the race for the final playoff spot with 20 games to play.

Victoria beat Kamloops 4-1 on Wednesday to keep hold of eighth place.

“We had our breakdowns, don’t get me wrong, but we played a team game, more of a game that we’re capable of playing,” Chiefs coach Brad Lauer said. “When we do the right things, do it the right way and play as a team, like I’ve been saying all year, we can beat anybody in this league. It’s just being consistent. We’ve got to understand what our identity is, you know, night in and night out.”

“We’ve talked in the room as a team and as an organization, and we’ve had our ups and downs this year, and our team knows we’ve got the roster, we got the guys to do it. We’ve just got to put it together,” Oremba said. “I think lately we’ve gained a lot of traction.

“I thought we weren’t bad against Everett – obviously on the wrong side of it. And then last game against Brandon was a big step. And then today, obviously was another big step. So, we’re turning in the right direction.”

The Chiefs took an early lead with 7:55 left in the first with a power play goal. Martin controlled the puck in the high slot and fed Sparks in the left wing circle, who snapped it past Vees goalie Andrew Reyelts for his 20th goal of the season. 

It stayed that way until 14:43 of the second period. The Chiefs created a turnover in the neutral zone and entered the Penticton zone with speed. Martin fed Oremba and his one-timer went into the yawning goal for his 19th goal of the season. 

“I was like, oh boy,” Oremba said of the pass getting through to him wide open. “And then it was just like, wide open net. And you’ve got to give Martin a lot of credit, because a backhand pass over a stick is not an easy play, but I guess when you’re drafted to the NHL, you can make those plays.”

A little more than one minute later the Chiefs scored again. Cohen Harris dug a puck out of the corner and sent it cross-ice to captain Will McIsaac, playing in his 250th career WHL game. McIsaac, using a Vees defenseman as a screen, launched a wrist shot past Rayelts for his fifth goal of the season and a 3-0 lead. 

The Vees got on the board with 7:20 remaining in the second. With Martin off for hooking, Penticton defenseman Nolan Stevenson’s wrist shot from the middle slot got through a screen and behind Vieillard for his eighth goal of the season. 

The Chiefs went back to the kill a few moments later, but they were the ones to take advantage of the situation. Ethan Hughes stole the puck at center ice, came into the Vees zone on a breakaway, and slotted a backhander past Reyelts for his sixth goal of the season.

Oremba added his second goal of the game, knocking in his own rebound on a goal-mouth scramble, with exactly one minute remaining in the period. 

Instead of surrendering momentum after the Vees’ goal, the Chiefs added to their lead. 

“That’s what good teams do,” Oremba said. “We’ve worked on keeping the puck of our net, and you got to give credit to Vieillard – he was outstanding, and he has been outstanding for us this year. And as our team grows older and gets more mature, you can see it in the way we play. After a goal, it’s keeping it simple and getting back to, you know, what we did before, rather than staying in our own zone.”

Penticton gained some momentum early in the third, with Brooks DeMars banging home a pass from behind the net by Cameron Norrie for his sixth goal of the season.

But the Chiefs got that one back with 11:19 left. Sparks hit Logan Wormald in stride with a stretch pass and his wrister got through the five hole for his 18th goal of the campaign to make it 6-2. 

Coco Armstrong added the extra point at 11:28 of the third, converting a 3-on-2 as the trail man for his career-high 17th goal of the season. 

“We got up a couple of goals and (Penticton) got one, but we scored two late in the second period, which was good,” Lauer said. “We gave up that one early in the third and I thought, ‘Well, they’re gonna have a little bit of a push here.’ I thought we did a good job of playing the right way and keep it simple and not complicating the game.”

“I definitely say it’s a confidence builder. (Penticton) is a good team,” Oremba said. “I guess we’re 2-2 against them. … We know we’re a good team, but we’ve had to put it together, and today was the day that we did that. So, you know, it’s one game, but you build off that, and you go into this weekend against two more opponents.”

The Chiefs play Friday at last-place Vancouver (18-29-1-2) and at 11th-place Wenatchee (18-26-3-2) on Saturday.