Chiefs close regular season with loss to Seattle, lock up No. 6 seed for playoffs | WHL hockey

Despite a considerable advantage in shots, the Spokane Chiefs closed their regular season with a rare shutout loss, falling 4-0 to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday at the Arena.

It was just the third shutout the Chiefs (36-30-2-0) have suffered this season.

Seattle (31-27-6-4) locked up a WHL Western Conference playoff spot with its second win over Spokane in the past three days. Thunderbirds star Cameron Schmidt had two goals to boost his league-leading scoring total to 51 goals on the season.

The Chiefs had 39 shots compared to 20 for the T-Birds, with a 17-6 shooting advantage in the first period, but Spokane fell into a 2-0 hole in the first 10 minutes and couldn’t spark a rally.

Spokane is locked into the No. 6 seed for the WHL Western Conference playoffs. The Chiefs open postseason play against the No. 3 seed Prince George Cougars. Round 1 dates and times will be announced Monday.

The Chiefs announced their team awards before the game, naming Chase Harrington and Coco Armstrong the co-players of the year. Harrington led the team with 28 goals, while Armstrong scored 25.

Captain Will McIsaac, the 19-year-old St. Louis Blues prospect, was named the Terry Bartman Players’ Player. He has appeared in 270 career games with the Chiefs.

Defenseman of the year went to Rhett Sather and 16-year-old Gavin Burcar took home rookie of the year honors.