Bring the Rain!

I know I haven't posted on Tuesday's game yet. That's coming. This is about the upcoming game on Saturday against Swift Current that is probably my favorite regular season game of the year. It's the annual Teddy Bear toss game! If you haven't heard you bring a bear (or any stuffed animal) to the game and toss it to the ice when the Chiefs score their first goal. The flying plush then gets donated to several organization through the Spokesman-Review Christmas fund.

Bring a bear. Bring more than one bear. It doesn't even need to be a bear. I'm bringing bears, a penguin, a dinosaur, Snoopy, and Snuffleupagus to name a few. You don't even need to spend much. If you can't find a bear for five bucks you don't know how to shop. Last year we threw a total of around 4,100 bears. There's no reason we can't hit 5,000. Last year Calgary threw over 22,000 bears! Why? Because everyone brought at least one. So do it for the kids. Bring a teddy bear to the game on Saturday.

Or I will hunt you down.

Shine like it does.

What a difference a month makes.

Halloween seems so long ago. It was Halloween night that the Chiefs lost at home to Portland and ended up with a 5-5-1-0 record. The loss also put Spokane 13 points behind Tri-City. When November rolled around, however, the Chiefs kicked up a gear and went 10-3 that month which included road wins against Portland, Calgary, and Tri-City. They started off December the same way with a 4-2 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds. Spokane now has a 17-8-2-0 record and are sitting just four points back of Tri-City. Kyle Beach scored a pair of goals, the latter being an empty netter. Jared Spurgeon found the back of the net off a sweet pass from Mitch Wahl. Also Dominik Uher finally gets his first goal of the season, which turned out to be the game winner. James Reid was Captain Awesome again in net, which anymore is the norm for him.

This team is really improving fast. It helps having everyone healthy again, especially Spurgeon. The Chiefs are simply a better team with him in the lineup. The newbies also continue to improve. Spokane is definitely a contender for the U.S. division title, and for that matter the western conference.

Spokane travels to Portland for an important game Sunday. Portland stands two points up on the Chiefs in the U.S. division for second place. Then Prince George comes calling Tuesday. After that it's the teddy bear toss game Saturday against Swift Current. More on that game later. But for now:

Go Chiefs!

Statement Delivered

I know I took the week off from updates so here's a quick recap of the roadie the Chiefs were on: 5 games, three wins, seven points. They beat Edmonton and Calgary while losing to Red Deer. Then after a disappointing loss to Everett they turned around and delivered a 4-1 beatdown in Tri-City. I'll take a seven point result on a five game roadie anytime, especially against teams like that.

Then on to Saturday, where the Chiefs returned home and blanked the Regina Pats 4-0. Tyler Johnson started the scoring when he took a sweet pass from Jared Spurgeon and razzle-dazzled his way in front of the net to score. Kenton Miller scored the second goal as he continues to improve his game. Steve Kuhn scored in the third period and Ryan Letts added an empty netter to seal the scoring. Then there's James Reid. He continues to be an absolute maniac in net, making some amazing saves and twisting around in ways that made my muscles sore. Also, his GAA is now 2.03, which is tops in the WHL. I take back any doubts I had about Reid from a month ago: In James Reid I trust.

This team is for real. Everyone's off the injury list. The younger players are getting better. I find myself calling names like Blake Gal, Kenton Miller, Anthony Bardaro, and Brady Brassart more often. And it even looks like the coach might finally be deciding on his lines. Hopefully he doesn't change his mind. The Chiefs are looking good and have pulled within two points of Portland for second place in the division and four points of first place Tri-City. Look out WHL, here they come.

Spokane is now off on a well deserved rest until Friday when they face the Seattle Thunderbirds in the arena.

Go Chiefs!

That good feeling

This was a good weekend for the Chiefs. A VERY good weekend for the Chiefs.

I get to the game on Saturday to see the warm up skate as I usually do. There I am, checking to see which players didn't suit up. Imagine my delight when I see a Chief wearing number 18 which can only mean one thing:

JARED SPURGEON IS BACK!!!

Spurgeon responded in his first game back with three assists as the Chiefs went off on the Kamploops Blazers 6-1. Mitch Wahl knocks in a goal. So does Stefan Ulmer. Brady Brassart gets his first WHL goal of his career. The other three goals went to Kyle Beach, who earned another hattie. I know usually a Beach hattie would be mentioned earlier in the post but Spurgeon was the bigger story. He's not the biggest defensemen, or the strongest defensemen. But he is one of the smartest defencemen the Chiefs have ever had. This team is much better with him. Even Jared Cowen had a better game with him there. Cowen and Spurgeon are the Butch and Sundance of the WHL. Also, any doubts I had about James Reid are completely gone. Another stellar job in net by #35. Reid is getting the job done. That's all I ask.

Sunday's game against the Kelowna Rockets marked the return of Ryan Letts. His main job is not to score goals, it's to hit you and wear you down. He does that well, and it would prove to be crucial in this game as Brady Brassart makes a case to be my new favorite Chief as he scores the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory over the defending WHL champions. Again, James Reid did the job in net, stopping everything Kelowna threw in front of him. Also good to note that if you go to the Chiefs website and click on the injury report you won't see any names. Can't remember the last time that happened.

After this weekend it is clear to me that the Chiefs can play with anyone. They have beaten Tri-City, Portland, Vancouver, and now Kelowna twice. They are tied with Everett for third place in the U.S. Division and in the grander scheme of things are tied for fourth place in the western conference with a 12-7-1-0 record and 26 points. The Chiefs are ready to make a run. Tri-City and Portland better be checking over their shoulder.

The Chiefs now go on their second longest roadie of the season with stops in Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Everett, and Tri before returning on the 28th of November to face Regina. Better find a new hobby this weekend.

Go Chiefs!

Ugly Hockey

I'll get straight to the bad news: In a game that was so bad it seemed to last about six hours the Chiefs lost to the Everett Silvertips 5-2. Mitch Wahl continues his good streak with a goal, and Kyle Beach scores a beauty with a minute left in the game that really only felt like a pity goal. I know that losing is going to happen, but bad play like that doesn't have to happen. I left in a bad mood. Nothing could break my bad mood. Even watching the replay of Chelsea beating Manchester United 1-0 didn't help.

Okay, maybe that helped a little.

In spite of that The Chiefs played poorly. One of the problems? Lallygagging! I like that word and I'm bringing it back. They were lallygagging all over the ice. What does that make them? Lallygaggers! Hopefully the Chiefs will pick up the pace and light a fire. They can be better than a fourth place team.

I'm putting the Chiefs Coach on notice. Hardy Sauder needs to stop tinkering with the lines. This is not September. I find it amazing that we're nearly two whole months into the season and he still hasn't got his lines set. Someone get him an 'easy' button so he can figure this out.

The Chiefs have Kamploops on Saturday and Kelowna on Sunday. Let's not start a losing streak.

Go Chiefs!

The Tremendous Upside

It wasn't all pretty but if you come away with four points I'll take it.

On Friday the Chiefs showed that strange things still happen on trips to Seattle. Spokane shows up to play in the third period and wins 3-1. Kyle Beach gets another goal. Blake Gal gets the game winner in the third. Mitch Wahl adds an empty netter. James Reid gets the job done in net again, stopping 28 of 29 shots. Spokane still racks up penalty minutes like no one's business. I'd like to see that tone down. An ugly win, but a road win nonetheless.

Saturday it was home against the Vancouver Giants. I had some concern about this one. Vancouver was sure to be in a foul mood after the 8-2 beatdown that Tri-City handed them the night before. But the Chiefs played solid defense and scored just enough to win 2-1. Levko Koper scored in a nifty breakaway to put a fakey past the goalie and in the net. Mitch Wahl added a second goal when he went five hole on the goalie. James Reid is again showing that he still wants the starting job with another rock performance in the pipes. He stoned 24 of 25 shots and only let in the goal that Vancouver scored on a 5 on 3 power play. Which leads me to the next issue: Penalties. The Chiefs are still taking lots of penalties. Several of them are stupid and unnecessary. The Chiefs need to be more disciplined and take fewer penalties. They are giving their opponents to many chances to score. But this team is showing promise. They are finding more than one way to win and are becoming more resourceful on both ends of the ice. If this trend continues they will make a serious run. Bank that.

As it stands, though, the Chiefs have won four straight. They are now in a third place tie with Everett in the U.S. division. And ironically enough it's the Everett Silvertips that come to Spokane on Tuesday.

One more thing. That was a red out Saturday? Embarrassing. They were even selling red t-shirts at the gate. Red out means wear red! To anyone not wearing red do better next time.

Go Chiefs!

Glorious Victorious

I was worried about this one. Chilliwack had beaten both Tri-City and Calgary over the past week. Plus, the Chiefs had lost their last three at home.

But I'm feeling much better now.

The Chiefs handled their biz in a 5-1 win over Chilliwack. After spotting them a goal in the first the Chiefs took over. Or rather Kyle Beach took over. Again. Scored two more. How he didn't get WHL player of the week I'll never know. I gotta admit Beach is making a strong case for my new favorite Chief. Tyler Johnson added a goal. So did Levko Koper. The fifth and final goal came from Mitch Wahl. Mitch Wahl? Wow. Haven't called his name in a while. Mitch moved down the ice, past the defensemen and made a nifty move to put the puck past the goalie that ended his nine game goal drought. I don't think I have ever seen a player look so relieved after scoring a goal. James Reid looked pretty good in goal, stopping 24 of 25 shots.

Even though the Chiefs won I still have a major concern. Jared Cowen. I don't know who that is wearing Cowen's jersey anymore. I mean, I like it when the Chiefs use him up front on the power play. That has opened up several opportunities for goals. But his defensive skills have been, well, terrible. Maybe being captain has been a burden on him. Maybe he misses Jared Spurgeon, who has been on the shelf all season. Hard to say. I just want him to start being the player he can be. Soon. I think Ottawa might be ready to call and ask for a first round pick do-over.

The Chiefs are on a roadie on Friday against Seattle and then it's back on Saturday against the Vancouver Giants. Wear red on Saturday.

Go Chiefs!

Farewell to Donaghy

Game post against Chilliwack is coming but I wanted to do a separate post on Dustin Donaghy. Donaghy was traded to Lethbridge, a team that we do a lot of business with, for a sixth rounder in next Summer's bantam draft. This solves the problem of having four 20-year-old players on the team. Looks like Sprugeon, Letts, and Bartman are staying put.

I'll miss Donaghy. It's sad when any player that was part of the '08 Memorial Cup Team leaves. Not many of them left. Plus, Donaghy fought Tri-City players often (and crushed them).

Farewell, Dustin Donaghy. And good luck in Lethbridge. You will be missed.

Sense of Optimism

You could say it was a rather odd weekend for the Chiefs. With the way they played you would think they came away with six points instead of only four. Regardless, playing Kelowna on the road and then a home and home set with Portland could have ended disastrous. But all things considered I'll take it.

First off, I haven't mentioned my Saginaw Spirit team for a while so here's a quick OHL post:

Saginaw beat Windsor over the weekend 4-3 in a shootout! Woo Hoo!!!

This concludes my OHL post.

Moving on, the Chiefs rolled into Kelowna on Friday. Kelowna was the only team the Chiefs played more than once last season and didn't beat. Plus, they are the defending WHL champs so I had my concerns. But the Chiefs went in and beat the Rockets 4-3. Kyle Beach and Tyler Johnson each had a pair of goals and Michael Tadjdeh stopped 31 of 34 shots. Who would have thought that Kyle Beach went from most hated hockey player in Spokane to the Chiefs leading scorer. Beach has become.....the wind beneath my wings. Strange that I'm not ashamed to say that.

The Chiefs then came home on Halloween night to face the Portland Winterhawks. Spokane outshot them, outplayed them, and lost 2-0. The Chiefs looked good. The passing was good, the movement was good, and they were getting looks at the net. Problem was Kurtis Mucha had one crazy good night in net for Portland, stopping all 35 shots the Chiefs threw at him. Tadjdeh was also good in net, stopping 24 of 25 shots. The officiating...not good at all. It was so bad that it wasn't even good enough to stink. Hopefully Wieler won't make a return here soon.

Sunday the Chiefs got it together and beat the Winterhawks in Portland 3-0. The goals came from Stefan Ulmer, Kyle Beach, and Tyler Johnson. But most impressive was the return of James Reid who stopped all 34 shots he faced. I started to have doubts of Reid and even started getting critical of him. This performance might have laid some of my fears to rest. I hope he can continue to perform well in net. He is certainly capable of it.

The Chiefs are back Wednesday when Chilliwack comes calling. Then off to Seattle on Friday and Vancouver back in Spokane on Saturday. By the way, the Saturday is red out night. Please wear something red. Anything red will do.

Go Chiefs!

Is there a doctor in the house?

I know there was no post after last weekend's Tri-City game. That game left such a bad taste that I didn't even want to think about it for a while. So here's the short version: Chiefs lose 4-3. we gave that game to them. Wrapped it up and handed it to them like a wedding present you were kinda ashamed to buy but did anyway because it was on sale. We spotted Tri a 2-0 lead, came back and tied it, took the lead on a Tyler Johnson penalty shot, and then let Tri score two goals within less than a minute of each other. Chiefs lose. There goes the neighborhood.

I was hoping there would be some retribution on Wednesday against the Brandon Wheat Kings. And for a while it looked that way. After Spokane gave them a goal in the first minute the Chiefs scored three and had a 3-1 lead. We then let Brandon tie it in the second period and gave them the lead in the third. After we tied it at 4 we gave the game right back to them. Brandon 5, Spokane 4.

I never thought that mention of a hattie would end up this far down in a post. But sure enough, here it is. Kyle Beach and his hattie was basically what kept the game against Brandon so close. Thank goodness for Kyle Beach! Levko Koper was the other goal scorer for the Chiefs and had a decent game. Garrett Leedahl also continues to impress me, as he made several good defensive plays including stopping a puck that had made it past the goalie and almost trickled in the net. We also fared well on the power play and the penalty kill.

Then there's the other stuff: James Reid had an off night. He didn't look very sharp in net at all. I hate to say this but I am starting to have some doubts about Reid. I don't want to, but I don't know how many five goal nights I can take. He certainly has the skill to turn it around, and I'm pulling for him. But I wonder how long before the Chiefs try out Michael Tadjdeh for the Starting job. Also, Jared Cowen wasn't himself last night. He made several bad passes and just didn't look very comfortable. Hopefully the captain can right the ship fast. Kyle Beach can't do it all on his own.

The Chiefs are at Kelowna on Friday and then a home-and-home with Portland over the weekend.

Get back on track, boys.

Go Chiefs!

When Tri comes to town....

I still can't get over the weirdness of the schedule this season. Not only have we still not played Everett (which will change next month), but this will be Tri's last visit this calendar year. No Tri visits in November and December. Oh, well. Nothing to be done about it.

Also, I hope Tri-City fans make the trip up this time. They were noticeably absent for the Chiefs home opener. Fact is I LOVE bantering with Tri fans. Put Tri fans in my section and I'm like Mr. Burns. "Excellent!"

Saturday is buck night at the Arena. I'm indifferent on buck night but I do understand the reason behind it. It puts more butts in the seats. But do they have to put cheer stick night on the same night? I have never wanted something to go away at sporting events this badly since 'the wave'. Trust me when I say this: I don't need cheer sticks to be noisy. Cheer Sticks? We don't need your stinking Cheer Sticks! Seems to me buck night would be a good time for a 'red' out. Especially against Tri-City. Just saying.

Anyway, Tri is ranked again in the CHL poll and I really don't want them to stay there. Game is at 7. Don't be late or you'll miss out on all the good hot dogs.

Go Chiefs!

It's a Jekyll and Hyde Thing

Well, it's a month into the WHL season and people are still trying to decide what they think of Kyle Beach. I decided to give him a second chance to be the player he's capable of, both on and off the ice. I am glad I gave him that shot. However, he did revert back to the other Kyle Beach while in Kootenay on Friday night as he was responsible for 11 of the 16 Spokane Chiefs penalty minutes, including a tripping penalty in the third which led to the Kootenay power play that produced the game winning goal and the 4-3 win over Spokane. This led me to the obvious and inescapable conclusion:

Kyle Beach has an evil twin!

This has to be it. Beach has done well so far with Spokane. Then the Chiefs travel to Kootenay and the evil twin must have sneaked onto the bus as they were crossing the border. Someone needs to find this evil twin and lock him up for the rest of the season. Anyway, Chiefs lost on Friday 4-3. Kenton Miller, Mitch Holmberg, and Jared Cowen were the scorers for the Chiefs. Chase Martin stopped 26 of 30 shots as he filled in for James Reid, who was back home due to a death in the family.

Saturday was better. After a lallygagging first period the Chiefs woke up and beat Kootenay 3-1. Steve Kuhn, Kyle Beach (good twin, his evil twin must have forgotten his passport), and Kenton Miller scored the goals. The newly acquired Michael Tadjdeh looked rocky in the first but shook off his nerves and played well down the stretch, stopping 24 out of 25 shots. He might make this roster when all is said and done. I'm honestly surprised that he didn't earn a star in that game.

Now I know we're still a couple of weeks away from Christmas but I'm starting my wish list already. First off, I wish that Mitch Wahl would start playing like Mitch Wahl. The more we get into the season the more frustrated he gets. It really showed this past weekend. Snap out of it, Mitch. We need you. Second, I wish coach Sauter would stop tinkering with his lines. You would think three weeks of practice and one month of a regular season would be enough to figure this out. Set your lines and give your players a chance to work with each other on a regular basis. That actually might be one of the things that is frustrating Mitch Wahl.

No games all week until Saturday when Tri-City comes to town again.

Saturday is also buck night.

Hide the liquor.

Go Chiefs!

New Goalie in Spokane

Straight from the files of 'I did not see this coming'.

The Spokane Chiefs traded their eighth round pick in the 2011 bantam draft to Lethbridge for goalie Michael Tadjdeh. Full details are on the Chiefs website. I'm not sure the logic behind this one. James Reid is excellent. Backup Chase Martin has potential, and I really liked Brenden Edie at Chiefs camp, and he is still in the Chiefs system. I guess this doesn't bode well for Alex Wright, who I thought might end up being the Chiefs backup to Reid. Hopefully Tadjdeh is good enough to stay.

Also, Wednesday at 4pm Pacific time is the AHL matchup of the Albany River Rats against the Norfolk Admirals, which will match former Chiefs Drayson Bowman (Albany) and Dustin Tokarski (Norfolk) against each other. Both have started their AHL careers well. Tokarski notched his first shutout win over the weekend and Bowman has three points and two assists in three games. The AHL website has your hookup. I can't pick sides on this one so I hope they both do well.

Four point weekends make me happy!

As I write this I'm cranky. The baseball playoffs have put me in a bitter mood. The Yankees and Angels both swept their series to advance to the second round.

Crap.

The two teams I hate the most advanced. I have to slightly cheer for Anaheim due to the fact that I flat cant stand the Yankees. They're right up at the top of my hate list along with the New York Rangers, the LA Lakers, and Manchester United.

Thankfully the Chiefs were able to brighten up my mood this weekend with a pair of wins. First up was Prince Albert. The Chiefs played well during part of the first and all of the third period, but the bizarro Chiefs came out of the locker room to play the second period. I hope this is not going to be a pattern. Regardless, the Chiefs pulled it together and won 5-2. Levko Koper, Stefan Ulmer, Matt Marantz, Steve Kuhn, and Tyler Johnson were the goal scorers, with Johnson's being an empty netter. James Reid stopped 24 shots and looked more relaxed than he did the previous weekend. This was also the first goal for Matt Marantz. That kid has impressed me so far this season. He works hard every shift and has a desire to prove himself. He is making a strong case for my new favorite Chief player (the spot is empty with the departure of Ondrej Roman).

Saturdays game went better. The Chiefs played a solid 60 minutes of hockey and beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-1. The goals belonged to Kyle Beach, Jared Cowen, Blake Gal, and Tyler Johnson. Reid stopped 23 shots in this game including stopping a penalty shot. James Reid needed to have a good weekend. After last weekend's lackluster play he needed this. He looked a lot more comfortable in net this weekend. So to the people who were at the game complaining about him on Friday: Get off his back! He's going to be fine.

I also must say that Jared Cowen is absolutely LOVING being captain. I'm impressed. Ottawa picked up one seriously good defensemen in the draft this past Summer.

And of course there's Kyle Beach, who got into his first fight as a Chief on Saturday. Bet let's face it, Acolatse had it coming. I'm not faulting Beach for that one. So because of his play and behavior so far this season Kyle Beach is now on my good side.

Chiefs are off until next weekend with a home and home against the Kootenay Ice.

Go Chiefs!

They told me there would be weekends like this....

As far as the Spokane Chiefs are concerned, I wish this weekend didn't happen. But since I don't have the authority to call a 'do over' there's nothing I can do about it.

First off: The Portland Winterhawks.....

"They are who we thought they were!"

Now I know that weird things happen when Portland visits, and Friday was no exception. There were strange bounces, bizarre rebounds, and our players were falling so much I thought I was watching the mite skate. Portland played well, however, scoring three times in the second and holing off a Chiefs rally to beat Spokane 5-3.

"They are who we thought they were!"

Mitch Wahl, Kyle Beach, and Tyler Johnson were the goal scorers in this game. The most memorable moment came from Jared Cowen who fought in the second period. As he was heading to the penalty box he called out his whole team at the bench. The Chiefs weren't playing well in the second and he was trying to fire up the troops. It worked. And though they lost they played better the rest of the game. I must say I was a little worried about giving the 'C' to an 18 year old. But after that game I have to say I believe in Jared Cowen. But Portland is for real this season. They're going to have a good run.

"They are who we thought they were!"

Saturday was a roadie to Tri-City. The result, far worse. Tri-City 6, Spokane 2.

Ugh.

I know roadies are never easy, especially against rivals. But this one stings. The main thing that seems to be lacking is the penalty kill. Tri has three power play goals, and our penalty kill overall this season has been less than stellar. I'm guessing there will be more practice on that this week. Let's hope the Chiefs can just put this weekend behind them and move on. At least my Flyers got off to a good start, beating both Carolina and New Jersey. The Flyers beating Jersey puts me in my happy place.

Also, for those interested the Albany River Rats (new home of Drayson Bowman) will play the Norfolk Admirals (new home of Dustin Tokarski) on Wednesday, October 14th. The game can be purchased on the AHL website. I believe you can also stream the audio from there.

The Chiefs are off until this weekend with back to back homers against Prince Albert (Yeah, Canadian Anthem!) and Seattle.

Go Chiefs!

Feels Good to Be Back Home Again!

I love hockey, I love the Chiefs, and I love being in the Spokane Arena. Being at the arena with friends, being loud and rowdy, and watching hockey, it's better than therapy. It also helps when the home team wins. Tonight was no exception: Spokane 5, Tri-City 2.

The Chiefs looked like the nerves were running high in the first period. Tri scored first early in the first period on the power play thanks to Kyle Beach and his hooking penalty less than a minute into the game (great, here comes the Beach we all know). Mitch Wahl tied it at 1 in the first. Bret Bartman netted the Chiefs second goal in the second period. The Chiefs came alive in the third. Jared Cowen scored early, and Kyle Beach scored twice in the third to end the scoring for the Chiefs. Tri added another power play goal late in the third. James Reid stopped 21 shots and did not let an even strength goal through in the game.

I must say I am impressed. Once the Chiefs started the second period they completely dominated Tri. They were the aggressor for the rest of the game and kept Tri on their heels. This is the Chiefs team I hope to see the rest of the season. If they continue to play like that there's no reason they can't win the U.S. division. As for Beach, his play in the first period was forgettable, but I will chalk that up to nerves. He had the hooking penalty and wiffed on a breakaway shot. He played much better the rest of the way, getting two goals and an assist. So my overall opinion on Beach....he can stay. For now. So far the 'games in a row Kyle Beach has not pissed me off' now stands at 1.

Chiefs are off until Friday when the much improved Portland Winterhawks come calling.

Go Chiefs!

Cowen, more Beach, and S-A-TUR-DAY....NIGHT!

Okay, first off, we have a captain already. Jared Cowen. I'm a little surprised at the choice, but I'm pleased. He has the leadership skills and the overall knowledge of the game to lead this team. I'm actually more surprised that they picked a captain now instead of last season when they picked him in December.

Also, I have some more thoughts on the arrival of Kyle Beach. I was angry, but to my surprise it was not a 'Hulk angry! Hulk smash!' kind of angry. It was more like a Marvin Martian 'oooh, that makes me very angry!' kind of angry. Now that I'm calmer about this I have some more thoughts about this. I can only hope that he has matured over the past year. If you've read any website, blog, tweet, article, newspaper, and stone tablet about him you know he's very talented and knows how to find the back of the net. It's his lack of maturity that has caused problems in the past. I really hope he has gotten past that. And because I am about giving people a second chance.....I am willing to do the same for Beach. It's not like I have much of a choice if you think about it. I am a Chiefs fan. I support my team. That fact that Kyle Beach is going now wearing a Chiefs sweater is not going to change that. So here goes: Show me something, Beach. Show me I can be glad you're here. I'll be watching. Don't make me regret this.

During this I have also forgot to wish Mike Reddington the best of luck in Lethbridge. I think he'll fit in nicely there. But he will be missed here.

Now, it's game time! Season opener against Tri on Saturday. It's going to feel good to be back home again!

Go Chiefs!

WHAT???

Seriously, someone needs to come over to my house right now and repeatedly punch me in the face to make sure I'm not dreaming. The Spokane Chiefs made a trade with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and acquired Kyle Beach. Yep. THAT Kyle Beach. The same Kyle Beach that I have loved to hate over the past couple of years. The same Kyle Beach that had his face caved in by Chris Bruton a while back (by the way, that video still makes me tear up with joy).

I'm not happy about this. He's a jerk. I've talked to Everett fans before and they were glad when they traded him to Lethbridge last season. He brings a lot of problems with him.

The Chiefs sent Lethbridge both Mike Reddington and Landon Olanski. I'll miss them both. Especially Olanski. I really liked watching that kid at the scrimmages and thought he was going to be something special.

Beach better shape up. I won't put up with his bad act for long.

I still can't believe this. I'll have nightmares tonight for sure.

Sweet Caroline, we have a hattie already!

That didn't take long.

Levko Koper comes out of the gate like a maniac to start the season with a hattie as the Chiefs beat Prince George 6-3 to start of the 2009-10 hockey season. Koper gets two goals in the first and one in the second. They were also the first three goals the Chiefs scored in the game. The other goals went to Tyler Johnson, David Conrad, and Blake Gal. James Reid overcame a difficult first period and performed well the rest of the way. The second game, also in Prince George, didn't go as well. The Chiefs lose 2-1 in OT. Levko Koper (there's that man, again) scored the lone goal for Spokane.

Considering it's the first weekend of the regular season I couldn't have expected any better. The Chiefs started their season with a road trip that is so far north I'm fairly sure it involves a 12 hour dogsled ride and an episode of Ice Road Truckers. Plus, there is the injury bug already. Jared Spurgeon, Cory Baldwin, and Ryan Letts are out with injury. We are also still missing Jared Cowen, who is training with the Ottawa Senators. Hopefully the Chiefs won't have to deal with injuries like they did last season.

Now that the first roadie is out of the way it's time for the home opener. Saturday can't get here soon enough. Tri comes to town. This will be a fun one.

Message to Tri-City: Levko Koper will be there. Hide your goalies.

Go Chiefs!

Can't Hardly Wait

So as the season gets ever closer I'm finding it difficult to get back into the swing of writing about hockey more often. So to catch up this is a small update of everything that's happened over the past week or so.

The Chiefs went 1-2 in their first preseason weekend, beating Seattle while losing to Tri-City and Portland. Most notable player in those three games was Matt Marantz who had two goals and one assist and is playing like an absolute maniac. I like this trend: a player who was not drafted in the bantam draft ends up getting listed by the Chiefs and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Considering Tokarski, Blackwater, and Koper all fall into this category this story seems to have a happy ending. Someone needs to start up the Matt Marantz bandwagon quick (I have already committed myself to starting up the Dominik Uher bandwagon).

The Chiefs have also slimmed their roster down to 31 players. I was surprised that both Brenden Edie and Cole Hamblin were sent down. Hamblin had a good fall camp performance and looks like he'll be a solid defensemen. Edie was stellar in net from what I saw and I thought he had a decent shot at becoming the Chiefs #2 goalie. Other than that no real shockers. One thing this does tell me is that the Chiefs have a lot of good young talent on this team. It's one of the reasons I am very optimistic and excited for this season. With the players we lost in the offseason I was a little worried about how good the Chiefs would be, but the solid play by the newbies made that worry short lived.

Some of the players are away at NHL camps: Mitch Wahl (Calgary) Jared Cowen (Ottawa), Levko Koper (Atlanta), Tyler Johnson (Minnesota), and probably the coolest one of all is James Reid, who is attending Vancouver's camp. Glad to see the NHL has noticed his talent. He has some enormous skates to fill, but I think he's up for it. Number one goalie here for sure.

I also noticed the Chiefs (as well as everyone else in the WHL) has gone to the new Reebok edge jerseys. Nothing too exciting. They look almost identical. My jerseys are in good shape still so I can get at least another year out of them. I started to freak when I saw the price online but I think that's through river city sports, and they inflate their prices something fierce. I mean, really, $75 for a hooded sweatshirt? The new jerseys should be cheaper at the team store.

The Chiefs continue their preseason Thursday down in Tri at their Tournament. Then the regular season starts up next week.

This is gonna be good!

Any Hockey is Good Hockey

Let's face it, I love the red-white game. It's hockey. It's free. And it's back in the Spokane Arena which feels like my home away from home for about seven months (or longer). Plus, it also helps me deal with the fact that the Mariners were one hit by the Royals today (the Royals?!?). As it's practice I don't really care about the score so let's get to some player analysis:

Dominik Uher - Get the bandwagon started because I'm jumping on! Crisp passing, great awareness, and overall a great presence on the ice.

Anthony Bardaro - Wow. He stepped it up. I liked the way he worked with Uher. I would love to see them on the same line this season. Add a little Dustin Donaghy and that would be one solid line.

Mike Betz - This is the Betz I wanted to see last season before he was sent down. He plays like he has a chip on his shoulder, and that's a good thing in his case.

Matt Marantz - Solid team player. Liked his awareness and puck control.

Brendan Edie - Great goalie skills. Alex Wright might want to look over his shoulder as we may have a new #2 goalie.

Connor Chartier - He'll make the team next season. I hate to be cliche but - tremendous upside here.

Mitch Holmberg - see Connor Chartier. But Holmberg could make the team this season.

Cole Hamblin - Solid defensemen. He'll help replace the void that Trevor Glass left.

After seeing the red-white game I'm optimistically looking forward to this season. The U.S. division is wide open this year and the Chiefs have just as good a chance as anyone else in the division. Except Everett. I think they might suck this year.

The Chiefs start their preseason next weekend (Sept. 3) against Portland in Everett's tournament.

Not long now.

We're Talking 'Bout Practice

Scrimmages are in full swing now. I was able to sit in on one of the games on Friday. I must say that it felt good to be back in the arena and I'm looking forward to the red-white game on Sunday. I should start formulating opinions about the newbies after that.

Also, I'll file this under the 'I can't believe I didn't catch this before' section but I noticed that David Rutherford is back in the Pacific Northwest. He signed a contract with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL. He played last season with the Charlotte Checkers before being traded to the Phoenix Roadrunners. Phoenix ceased operations after the end of the season. Good to see Rudy get another shot. He had a pretty good rookie season in the ECHL. While I'm at it, here's where some of the other former Chiefs from the Memorial Cup team are:

Chris Bruton - Acadia University
Judd Blackwater - Stockton Thunder (ECHL)
Justin Falk - Houston Aeros (AHL)

Interesting enough, the Houston Aeros is also the home of former Chief goalie Barry Brust.

Good luck all of them.

Can't wait for Sunday!

Seriously Hockey

Well, it's nearing the end of August, which means it's time to wind down the Summer and wind up the hockey. Chiefs camp starts up tomorrow and ends on Sunday with the red-white scrimmage. I plan on attending the red-white game as well as maybe hitting up Friday's scrimmage. This means I get to start writing about hockey more and other stuff less. So time to conclude the Summer session with my afterthoughts.

Not only am I a hockey fan but I'm also a baseball fan. Seeing the Mariners play better this season has been pleasant and much appreciated. They're 65-61 (and beating Oakland) as I type this. Much improved. The Mariners didn't win 65 games all last season. They went 61-101 and became the first baseball team to lose over 100 games with a payroll over 100 million dollars. What a difference a season makes.

I also love movies. Lots and lots of movies. There were some gems this Summer. My favorites were Star Trek, Inglourious Basterds, Public Enemies, The Hangover, Up, Harry Potter, and Funny People. I was disappointed with the new Transformers movie, however. It was obnoxious, the plot wasn't very good, I'm still not convinced Megan Fox can act, and Shia LaBeouf can sometimes annoy the hell out of me. Somebody tell Michael Bay I want my ten bucks back.

Now with that out of the way the focus is on the Chiefs. I'm excited to see the newbies in camp. I'll be especially be paying attention to Dominik Uher, the new import player to replace Ondrej Roman. I'd also like to see James Reid take his game up a level. He did very well last season, but he has some huge skates to fill. Also, depending on how he does I might start up a Mitch Holmberg bandwagon. Or maybe a Tanner Mort bandwagon. This will be interesting weekend and now that hockey's back it feels good to say...

Go Chiefs!

Sad Sad Sad.

OK, there's a thunderstorm going on right now so my dog is up. And when my dog is up, I'm up. He hates thunderstorms and that means I'm up for a while. So I'm going to mention something that has absolutely nothing to do with hockey but something I've been thinking about a lot since I found out it happened: John Hughes. Dead of an apparent heart attack at age 59.

Now I know I am an avid movie geek but anyone who knows anything about the 80's knows John Hughes. He had his fingerprints all over movies in that time frame. If you grew up with those movies (as I did) you know the titles. Some of them are:

The Breakfast Club
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Pretty in Pink
Sixteen Candles
Some Kind of Wonderful
National Lampoon's Vacation
National Lampoon's European Vacation
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Home Alone
Home Alone 2
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Weird Science
The Great Outdoors
Mr. Mom
Uncle Buck

There were others. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. The bad comedies of this day and age can learn something from those movies, and the good ones have learned from those movies. Classics from one of the best. Writer. Producer. Director. Icon. That simple.

Thanks for the movies and the memories John Hughes. You are already missed.

Houston, we have a schedule.

August is here. A rather weird month if you think about it. Baseball season is getting ready for the pennant races, NFL preseason starts, and for people like me the English Premier League kicks off in a couple of weeks. But it's also a time to dust off the hockey jerseys and start making the Fall plans for hockey season. The Chiefs released their 09-10 schedule which makes me ready for hockey in a big way. I bust out the jerseys and make sure they are in good shape and wash them just in case I forgot to after the season ended. I once again look at the new Idaho Steelheads jersey that was given to me for my birthday (still has that fresh new hockey jersey smell). I even started buying stuffed animals for the teddy bear toss game in December. Too early for that? Don't really care. I bring many stuffed animals to that game and I have to plan ahead. I found out that it's not easy to get a stuffed Snuffleupagus but dammit I found one!

Red/ White scrimmage is at the end of the month. Soon. Very soon. Not long now. Before you know it it's 'Go Chiefs' time!

Enjoying Summer

It's been awhile since I've posted. Summer has been busy but unlike the difficulties I endured the first part of this year the last couple of months have been fun. Even though I'm passionate about hockey Summer is my favorite season of the year. It involves spending more time with family and friends, getting outside as much as possible, barbecuing often, and catching up on every single episode of 'Burn Notice'.

The drafts came and went. I cringed when Levko Koper was drafted to the same team as Evander Kane. Two of my Saginaw Spirit players also went to Atlanta (Defensemen Cody Sol and Goalie Eddy Pasquale). If I can get over hating Kane syndrome the Thrashers might me one of my favorite teams to watch. HKS = Hating Kane Syndrome. Many people have it. The Chiefs also added a new player from the Czech. Republic. All I'm saying is if the Czech. hockey federation pulls the same stunt they did with Ondrej Roman I am getting on a plane, flying to the Czech. Republic, and personally beating the crap out of somebody.

One thing that has been a pleasant surprise this Summer is that the Mariners have not sucked. In fact, they have been......good. I just recently made my annual Summer trip to Seattle to see them play the Rangers. Go figure. The Mariners take 3 out of 4 from the Rangers and I was at the one game they lost. If the Mariners keep up the good play they might make a run at.......

PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS?!? DON'T TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS!! PLAYOFFS?!?

Whether they get that far or not it's nice to see them playing well again. I also enjoy the atmosphere that Safeco field provides. Can't go wrong with baseball, friends, hot dogs, beer, and garlic fries. If you enjoy watching baseball at all I highly recommend seeing a game at Safeco. Definitely a fun atmosphere. The top picture was taken from the beer garden. Not a bad view.

Now if they can only get garlic fries for Spokane Indians games....

Draft Time!

Okay, quick post before 'Burn Notice' comes on. NHL draft is here. Jared Cowen will go high in the first round (I have him going at #7 to the Leafs). Time will tell if I'm right or not. Levko Koper is probably a fourth rounder. Stefan Ulmer? I hope he gets picked. If he goes it's probably not unitl late in the seventh round. I also have to give a shout to Saginaw Goalie Edward Pasquale, who is likely a late first or early second round pick. Hopefully he goes to a team I like (Flyers, I'm looking in your direction)

Anyway, good luck to all the aforementioned players. As long as you don't end up with the Rangers or the Ducks I'll be happy.

Now What?

Now the season is over. All of it. We have our champs: Pittsburgh (NHL), Hershey (AHL), South Carolina (ECHL), Windsor (WHL).

Now we wait. I love Summer. I really do. But September can't get here soon enough. Thankfully there are things to tie me over. I am a hopeless Mariners fan and am going over for a game next month. I will also be at the Spokane Indians games on and off. They don't serve garlic fries there but still a fun atmosphere. I can also pass the time with NHL 2K9 for the Nintendo Wii. I could also go old school and play NHL 97 for the PlayStation One (as the Winnipeg Jets!). Or I could go REALLY old school and play Blades of Steel in all of its 8-bit glory.

Then there is the draft coming up. I'll be all over that. Jared Cowen is a sure fire top ten pick. Most mock drafts have him going either sixth to the Phoenix Coyotes or seventh to the Leafs. As for Levko Koper, he is probably going in the fourth round. Stefan Ulmer may get picked also, but if he does it's probably not until the seventh round. Other WHL notes I found interesting: Collin Bowman, the younger brother of Drayson Bowman, is expected to be picked in the third round. Also, most mock drafts have Vancouver's Evander Kane picked fourth to the Atlanta Thrashers. Too bad. I kinda like Atlanta. But watching Evander Kane just makes me angry.

"You know you're a hockey fan when you use hockey tape instead of duct tape to fix everything."

Randoms

Well, the Memorial Cup finished up the round robin portion of the tournament. Kelowna has already punched their ticket to the championship game. Good for them! I'd like to see the WHL champ win the cup for the third year in a row. Rimouski and Windsor play tomorrow with the winner meeting Drummondville in the semis. I know Windsor tripped up in the first two games but they are still dangerous. I followed the OHL fairly well this past season and I must say they are as dangerous a team as there is. I'll even go as far to predict that they will beat both Rimouski and Drummondville and meet Kelowna in the championship. So go get 'em, Kelowna. I just wish you'd get a different jersey. That 'thing' on the jersey reminds me of something I saw in the movie 'Labyrinth'.

I also saw that Kyle Beach signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, and that was not going to escape my target line. This begs the question: Who do you want to see Kyle Beach fight first in the NHL? There are so many players that would destroy Beach that the possibilities are almost endless. I just hope I get to see it. Too bad Chris Bruton isn't in the NHL. Bruton's one punch crush was absolutely epic! Take my advice: If you're ever having a bad day, just head to you tube and look up 'Chris Bruton vs. Kyle Beach' . I'm sure it will brighten your day.

King of the 'W'

I honestly didn't think that Kelowna stood much of a chance against Calgary in the WHL finals. With the way they were playing I figured Calgary would take the series in five or six games. I was proved wrong over the weekend when the Kelowna Rockets beat the Calgary Hitmen in overtime to win the series 4-2 to advance to the Memorial Cup. Looking back on it I should be surprised. Kelowna was playing as good or better than anyone down the stretch. Plus, they did knock out Tri-City in the second round. Can't hate them for that.

Kelowna will be joined in the Memorial Cup by the Windsor Spitfires from the OHL. Windsor knocked out Brampton in five games to claim the OHL crown. The Rimouski Oceanic are hosting the tournament, so they're in. The last spot will go to either Drummondville or Shawinigan from the QMJHL. They are tied 3-3 with game 7 Monday night. I don't really follow the QMJHL much, but Windsor looked great all year. This ought to be a good tournament.

I will be pulling for Kelowna to win the Cup. The WHL has won it the last two years, and as long as it's not Tri-City I want the WHL to represent. So good luck Rockets, and do the WHL proud!

Think about the future.

The WHL had their bantam draft today. As far as how the Chiefs did, I guess they did well. Honestly, I don't follow the players much before they hit the junior level. But considering how well the Chiefs have drafted over the past five years I trust their judgement. I won't cover all of the players here but they drafted Reid Gow with their first round pick. Gow is a 5' 11" defensemen from Killarney, Manitoba. Spokane also drafted a local player Dillan Bogart. Head to the Chiefs website to see the rest. Overall, it looked like a well balanced draft. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do on the WHL level.

Round 2 of the NHL playoffs have started. My Flyers are out but I'm still intrigued. I'm pulling for the Wings, 'Nucks, 'Canes, and the 'Caps. Especially the 'Caps since they are not only playing the Pens, but they put the Rangers out of my misery.

I also noticed that the AHL is putting a team in Abbotsville, B.C. next season. Very cool! If I remember correctly Abbotsville is between Vancouver and Chilliwack. This now has the makings of one incredible road trip. You could spend a week and go to an NHL game (Vancouver), an AHL game (Abbotsville), an ECHL game (Victoria), a WHL game (either Vancouver or Chilliwack). Throw in a BCHL game (Surrey) and have a fun week of hockey! I love the fact that Canada is so close! This might have to happen.

And then there were two.

First off, the NHL playoffs haven't been going as well as I'd like them to. My Flyers were bounced in six games. Not unexpected, but disappointing anyway. I know the Pens have been looking good lately but I was still hoping. It will help if the Caps can knock off the Rangers. I couldn't stand to see them in the second round.

Second, the WHL finals are set. The Calgary Hitmen will face off against the Kelowna Rockets, who just finished off Vancouver. I figure Calgry is going to win the series, but what I am wondering is will Kelowna win a game? Calgary is a perfect 12-0 in the playoffs so far and have looked rather flawless. My opinion is Kelowna will win one game, possibly two. But Calgary is just too well balanced to let this one go. All the other teams that make it to the Memorial Cup better take notice of Calgary. It's very possible that the WHL could be the home to the last three Memorial Cup champs. That would actually be pretty cool.

In case you missed it....

Is anyone else out there going through hockey withdrawals? I'm checking the Vancouver vs. Kelowna score and it made me sad to think that the game would have been played here in Spokane had the Chiefs won game seven against the Giants. Oh, well.

Anyway, I know this happened a few days ago but Trevor Glass was signed by the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL to an amateur tryout agreement. He's on the roster as they play Worcester in the AHL playoffs. I'm glad that Glass has a shot. He certainly deserves it. But did he have to go to the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers? Seriously, anywhere else but Hartford would have been preferred. Even though he's in Hartford, I hope he does well enough to get a contract next year. Go get 'em, Glass!

Good for them, bad for us.

Can't say this was a surprise.

As if the bitter taste of losing to Vancouver wasn't bad enough, the bad but not unexpected news comes out of the local television stations that Dustin Tokarski and Ondrej Roman will get the call up to their respected organizations (Tampa Bay and Dallas) and won't be back in Spokane for their 20 year old seasons. Also, in case you missed it, Drayson Bowman was called up to the Carolina Hurricanes and will also be missing his 20 year old season as well.

Nothing shocking there. Tokarski doesn't have anything left to prove on the junior level, and anyone who thought Bowman would be back next year was a fool. Besides, both of them signed entry level contracts with their teams during last season. I was a little hopeful about Roman, however. Maybe even a little cautiously optimistic. But apparently the Dallas Stars have plans for Ondrej which will put him the the AHL or the ECHL next season. On the bright side the ECHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars is the Idaho Steelheads, which might mean a road trip to Boise for me if Ondrej ends up there. As for Bowman and Tokarski, they will likely be in the AHL next season so bookmark the Albany River Rats (Bowman) and the Norfolk Admirals (Tokarski) if I'm not mistaken.

Well, that leaves the Chiefs with four 20 year old players, so one of them still has to go. Jared Spurgeon and Brett Bartman are defensemen so they will likely be back. That means the odd man out will be either Dustin Donaghy or Ryan Letts. My guess is they'll keep Donaghy and they will release Letts. Time will tell on that one.

Crap.

48 Teams. That's how many junior hockey teams make the playoffs. 16 teams from the WHL, 16 teams from the OHL, and 16 teams from the QMJHL. All 48 teams have one goal in common: Win the Memorial Cup. For 47 of those teams the season ends in disappointment.

Tuesday was the day of disappointment for the Spokane Chiefs.

Spokane lost 1-0 in overtime to the Vancouver Giants on Tuesday. Both Tokarski and Sexsmith were stellar in net. I had a hunch that this game was headed for overtime but I didn't think it would be 0-0 after three periods. It didn't take very long for the dreaded event to happen. I'm so bummed that all I remember was a shot that looked like it bounced off of Tokarski's pad and found the net. Game over. Just like that. Vancouver takes the series 4-3 and will face the Kelowna Rockets in the western conference finals. The eastern conference finals will be the Calgary Hitmen and the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Even though I'm bummed right now I must say that was one of the best 7 game series that I have witnessed. You can even argue that it was better than the Spokane vs. Tri-City series from last year. I'm glad this series lived up to the hype.

So that's it, then. The season is over for the Chiefs. Now it's on to the offseason.

First off, even though I have been going to Chiefs games for well over a decade now this was the first year I had season tickets. It was a great time had by me and everyone else in our section. This was a great experience for me and I look forward to coming back next season. For the people who I have gotten to know in section 104 that won't be returning next season, you will be missed. It won't be the same without you there. for those who are returning, I can't wait for September!

As for Justin McCrae and Trevor Glass: I will miss them. They were acquired in a trade last season and played important parts in the Chiefs memorial cup run. I enjoyed watching them during the year and a half they were in Spokane. As for Brady Calla, he was only a few short months but his time was memorable. I had to get over the fact Seth Compton was traded for him but he filled in wonderfully. Trade well made. His time in Spokane was short but memorable. He did get a Gordie Howe hat trick in one of his first games as a Chief. I'll always have that.

I will also be on pins and needles to see who else won't be coming back next season. You can only have three 20 year olds on the team. With this roster the Chiefs will have seven (Bowman, Tokarski, Roman, Spurgeon, Bartman, Donaghy, and Letts). If you do the math you realize some of them will have to go. I have my predictions which I will share at a later date. However, I will predict that Jared Spurgeon will be captain next season. I do think he will be back.

In the meantime I have to find other things to do. The NHL playoffs are starting but I have a sinking feeling that my Flyers won't be around long. Baseball started up, which will help. I am a hopeless Mariner fan and will be going to see them play this Summer. I usually catch a few Spokane Indians games as well. I do like soccer and follow Chelsea in the English Premier League. I watched them advance to the next round of the UEFA champions league (suck on that, Liverpool)! I'm going to start following the Seattle Sounders. Maybe catch a game this Summer as well. There's always movies. I'll catch several movies in the coming months (Star Trek better not stink). Actually, with the price of movies anymore none of the movies I see better stink.

Anyway, back to hockey. Thanks to the Spokane Chiefs for a great season. There were highs and lows but the time spent in the Spokane Arena was well worth it. I'll be back next season, loud and rowdy as ever! I would also like to thank everyone who has read my blog. I appreciate it. This has been fun for me. I will still be posting during the offseason so stay tuned and until next season...

GO CHIEFS GO!

My Extreme Distaste

I know this is late but game 6 left me bummed. Chiefs lost 3-2 in double OT. Series is tied 3-3 with game 7 in Vancouver tonight. I am now disliking Evander Kane even more now. Not for the game winner he scored in double OT, but for the blatant and obvious slash on Tokarski in the first overtime after the whistle! I know he was penalized for that shot but you don't mess with the goalie!

Anyway, the Chiefs two goals came from Tyler Johnson in the first period from the right side of the net. By the way, that was the third time Johnson scored in this series, and all three goals came from basically the same spot. The Chiefs ties it up in the third with less than 90 seconds in the game when Stefan Ulmer shot from near the blue line and went pinball wizard off a Vancouver defensemen. The fans nearly blew the roof off the building with that goal. Too bad that feeling didn't last.

As I said, game 7 is tonight. Win and we face Kelowna in the conference finals. Lose....well, I'd rather not think about losing. As long as we have Tokarski and Bowman, and Johnson finds his spot, we can win this one.

Go Chiefs!

7,565 seconds

That was how long game five lasted. To break it down, a hockey game that doesn't go into overtime is 3,600 seconds. This game was obviously longer. Much, much longer. Regulation was not long enough. Neither were three full overtime periods. This game was settled in the fourth overtime. The game did not end on Friday. It ended Saturday morning around 12:40 a.m. and around three and a half hours after the Tri-City vs. Kelowna game ended. It turned out to be the longest game in the Spokane Chiefs history and the second longest game in the history of the WHL. I don't think the word 'epic' does the game enough justice.

Vancouver got out early with a 1-0 lead. Tyler Johnson countered on the power play to tie it at 1. Vancouver scored again to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period. No one scored in the second period. Drayson Bowman scored in the third to tie the game at 2. Then the overtime periods game. No one scored in the first OT. Scoreless in the second OT. Ditto in the third OT. By now it was after midnight and I was starting to feel the effects of the game, and I was sitting on the couch. Someone had to end this up and fast. I was looking to the usual suspects: Bowman, Wahl, Johnson, Koper, Roman, Calla. One of them had to come through, right? Nope. The game was ended with the Chiefs rookie line. Stefan Ulmer sent the puck up to 16 year old Blake Gal who went the rest of the way and put the puck past Sexsmith to give the Chiefs a 3-2 victory on Friday....er.....Saturday morning. I wasn't even sure that it happened right away. I was already fighting sleep. But sure enough, Chiefs win!

Once again Tokarski was absolutely solid in net, stopping 62 shots on net and was rock solid in the overtime periods. What a job he has done in the playoffs. In the last two games alone he has stopped 103 shots while letting in only two goals, and both of those goals came on the power play. Golden goalie? Absolutely! I think he needs a new nickname. He has played a few levels above golden lately. Anyone out there still think he's not the best goalie in the WHL? I submit that there is not!

Then there's rookie Blake Gal. This kid is going to be something special. He has had a terrific rookie season. The line he shares with Kenton Miller and Steve Kuhn (also both rookies) has gotten better as the season has moved on. This line is going to be spectacular in the coming years and I expect great things from them in future. Good on them!

I also have to put in a good word for the defense. The Chiefs have played this series with just five defensemen. These guys have really stepped up their game and played great. Jared Spurgeon, Trevor Glass, Stefan Ulmer, Mike Reddington, and Bret Bartman should all be commended for their contributions in this series. They are a big reason why the Chiefs can hang with, and beat, anybody in the WHL.

With the win the Chiefs now have a 3-2 series and can wrap the series up with a win on Easter Sunday. Hopefully there's a good turnout. I would love it if the arena was full and ridiculously crazy!

Go Chiefs!

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Ladies and gentlemen: We have a series!!

This game had almost everything you could hope for. Except goals. There was only one goal. Thankfully that goal was Tyler Johnson's in the first period that squeaked past Sexsmith to give the Chiefs a 1-0 victory to tie the series at 2. And when I mean squeaked past it was exactly that. No one saw it right away. I didn't see it at all right away. The only reason I started cheering was because Koper started celebrating. He saw it even before the goal judge did. Eventually the ref found it so all was happy.

As for Tokarski, I think calling him the Golden Goalie might be a bit of an understatement. He stopped 41 shots. 41 shots! 18 of them came in the third period! That had to be the first time this season that Vancouver put up that many shots without scoring a goal. I suppose I could also call Tokarski 'Fonzie', because he's cool. He also remained cool during a 5 on 3 penalty kill that lasted 34 seconds that was very intense. Best goalie in the WHL! It also helped that the crowd was insane last night. There were less than 5,000 at the game but is was just one big bowl of crazy.

I also want to mention Trevor Glass. He was very 'Terminator' like on defense as he stood people up, hit them hard, got players off the puck, and had a whole 'don't touch my goalie' attitude going. One of the best games he's had all season. I'll miss him next year.

I also have to give props to the Shaw TV announcers at the game over the past two nights. They set up their booth just behind my left shoulder. They love the atmosphere that the fans bring to the arena. They'll also talk hockey to you all you want when they're not working. Cool people. Wish we got Shaw here locally.

Game 5 is Friday in Vancouver and game 6 is Sunday (Easter) in Spokane. What would you wear to a hockey game on Easter Sunday?

Go Chiefs!

Goliath Lost

Insert sign of relief here.

The Chiefs got back to being the Chiefs in a role reversal and got back to swaggering, beating the Vancouver Giants 5-2 in game 3 of this series. The defense really stepped up giving up only 18 shots in the game. 18 shots! To Vancouver! The best part was Vancouver had only 2 shots in the third period! I don't know where Jared Cowen was but he had to be smiling ear to ear. The defense played well. All of them. Spurgeon, Glass, Ulmer, Reddington, Even Bret Bartman. I know I pick on Bartman at the game a lot but I give him props in this game.

The offense also got back on track. It was another episode of Bowman being Bowman with a goal and two assists (+4 on the night). Levko Koper scored in the first. Jared Spurgeon scored in the second. The third period goals went to Bowman, Justin McCrae, and Ondrej Roman's empty netter. All of Bowman's points came in the third.

This was the Chiefs team I was dying to see in the playoffs. They held their ground on defense, they started forechecking more, the passing was better, they started breaking in the attack zone, and they didn't let Vancouver push them around. Best game of the playoffs so far.

In other games My adopted OHL team, the Saginaw Spirit, was swept out of the second round by the London Knights (London, Ontario) 4-0. But my Philadelphia Flyers clinched a playoff spot. Bummed about Saginaw, but they did have a pretty good season. They're also a young team and should be better next year.

The Chiefs play game 4 tonight. Win that one and we have a series again!

Go Chiefs!

Ugliness

One thing I have learned about myself is that I really don't like blogging when the Chiefs don't play well. Lately, they haven't. They lost game 1 to Vancouver 3-1 and game 2 4-1 to trail 2-0 in the best of seven series. Things like that make me put this off.

Okay, game 1 wasn't too bad. Spokane tied the game at 1 in the third period on Mitch Wahl's pinball action goal off a defender and Vancouver's third goal was an empty netter. Not a bad effort, but Spokane has played better and needs to play better in this series. The Chiefs were never really in game 2. They consistently played back on their heels and gave Vancouver chance after chance. As good as Tokarski is in goal it helps if we get the puck in the attack zone and keep it there. We're not going to get a lot of scoring chances playing in our own end.

I hope playing at home is going to turn things around. I want this to be a good series and the Chiefs are more than capable than making that happen. Game 3 is here tonight and game 4 tomorrow. It's go time!

Go Chiefs!

How do you slay a Giant?

Well, it's game time. Almost. Game 1 against the Vancouver Giants is less than 24 hours away. Yes, that Vancouver. The team that led the western conference with 119 points. The team that flat out smoked us in the two games we played against them. The team that basically had the western conference title in their pocket since around Valentine's Day. The team that lost only ten games all season. The Chiefs task? Not to figure out how to beat them, but how to beat them four times.

It does sound daunting enough, but it actually might not be as bad as it sounds. True, Vancouver only lost ten games all season and has yet to lose a playoff game. But this team is not invincible. Six of those ten losses came in the last six weeks of the season. And if you think they had nothing to play for they were in a battle with Calgary for the best record in the WHL (a battle they did not win, I might add). We didn't beat them in two attempts, but Seattle did. So did Tri. Kelowna beat them twice. Heck, even Everett beat them in Vancouver on the last game of the season. Beatable? They certainly are!

So what do the Chiefs have going for them? First off, Tokarski needs to show up LARGE in this series. With Jared Cowen and Cory Baldwin still out the Chiefs are still short on defense. Vancouver is going to throw everything they have at him. So can he come up big in this series? You bet your Memorial Cup trophy he can! And I think he will. He's the best goalie in the WHL! He needs to being his best, and I think he's going to deliver whether we win the series or not.

Next up, spread the scoring around. Drayson Bowman, as great as he is, isn't going to carry the Chiefs by himself. Vancouver is going to know where he is at all times, probably from the moment he crossed the border. Mitch Wahl, Brady Calla, Ondrej Roman, Levko Koper, and Tyler Johnson need to be the offensive threats I know they can be. And when we're in the attacking zone please but someone in front of the net. Make them play defense and don't give them any breaks.

Third, for the love of all things good in hockey DON'T STAND AROUND WITH THE PUCK!!!! Vancouver is extremely fast and they will come after whoever has the puck. Pass the puck often and with precision, and move around with it when setting up a play. They are great at getting teams to play on their heels. Keep that from happening and happy stuff will happen.

I know that Vancouver is favored to win this series. Most people believe they will take it in 5 or 6 games. But I think if the Chiefs play their game and stick to it, they have a real chance to win this series. I really do. It's going to be hard, but it's possible.


The first two games are in Vancouver on Friday and Saturday. Games 3 and 4 are here next week.

Bring your 'A' game and Go Chiefs Go!

Next...

Glad to see the Chiefs can take care of business.

I was a little worried about this one. I knew Seattle, who was in a must win situation, would come out firing. Once, Spokane weathered that storm they beat Seattle 5-3 to win the best of seven series 4 games to 1. Bowman continued to be Bowman by adding two more goals, once of them an empty netter to seal the scoring. Bowman had 5 goals and 2 assists in the series. Justin McCrae scored on a nifty no look backhander. The other Chiefs goals went to Brady Calla on a breakaway and Mitch Wahl who scored a power play goal. The Golden Goalie stopped 31 shots in the game, 16 of those coming in the third period. Also of note, Seattle coach Rob Summer gets called on a bench minor in the third period for slamming the board and for being a potty mouth. He continues to be a potty mouth and gets kicked out of the game on a game misconduct. Way to get yourself kicked out of the game when your team is fighting for their playoff lives, coach.

Also, I still don't understand why Jared Spurgeon didn't get a star of the game last night. He did assist on both Bowman's goals, which alone wouldn't be enough. But he was absolutely incredible on defense and made some spectacular plays that kept Seattle from scoring two different occasions. That probably saved the game for us. A+ game for Jared! This game was also the first time that Bus No. 7 (aka Ryan Letts) skated in Spokane since the suspension. He had a decent game, although he did draw a stupid penalty in the third period.

Next up....the war machine of the Vancouver Giants. They are beatable, but this is going to be extremely tough. Everyone needs to bring their 'A' game is we want a chance. Game one is Friday in Vancouver. At least this gived the Chiefs some much needed rest and prep time.

Go Chiefs!

Taking it back

Back with authority.

The Spokane Chiefs took a 3-1 command of the series with a 3-2 road victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. Justin McCrae scored his first of the series and Tyler Johnson added his second of the series. Then, once again, with the score tied at 2 in the second period, the Chiefs being it up ice and HERE COMES ONDREJ ROMAN! He puts the game winning biscuit in their basket to finish off the scoring. Once again Tokarski became the golden goalie, stopping 11 shots in the third period alone in a performance that reminded me of the game against Kitchner in last season's Memorial Cup.

It was good to see the Chiefs bring some attitude back to the team. They did what they needed to do. They not only took back the series from Seattle, but they ripped it from their hands, pushed them down to the ground, laughed at them, and waited from them to get back up so they could push them back down again. Even though the Chiefs are the 4 seed in the western conference, they are the defending Memorial Cup champions, which means everyone else is gunning for them. To go far in the playoffs, the Chiefs need to show that they are dangerous, and I think they accomplished that by winning both games in Seattle.

With both Vancouver and Kelowna sweeping their opponents in the first round, the Chiefs now know they will start the second round of the playoffs on the road. They will get Vancouver unless Everett pulls off an almost miracle and knocks off Tri, in which case the Chiefs will face Kelowna. Either way, that's going to be a battle.

One quick OHL note: My adopted OHL team, the Saginaw Spirit, swept the Guelph Storm 4-0 to advance to the second round of the OHL playoffs. Way to go, Saginaw!

The Chiefs have a chance to close out the series in game 5 on S-A-TUR-DAY....NIGHT! Go Chiefs!

Welcome to the Offices of Johnson & Koper

When those two click, they really click.

Tyler Johnson and Levko Koper each scored two goals as the Spokane Chiefs beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-1 to take a two games to one series lead. Johnson's first came in the first to tie the score at 1. Stefan Ulmer soon followed to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead. Levko Koper then started his magic act with a shorthanded goal which gave the Chiefs a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period. Koper and Johnson each scored in the second period to finish off Seattle. Also of note: the returned Trevor Glass had two assists on the evening. Dustin Tokarski was once again the golden goalie, stopping 31 shots. Ryan Letts was also back from his suspension and celebrated his return with a roughing penalty in the first and an interference call in the third. Maybe that was rust, or possibly frustration. Probably both. Glad he's back, though. We could sure use his forechecking.

Something else that was refreshing is the fact that Drayson Bowman was not mentioned in the above paragraph. Don't get me wrong: Bowman is awesome and I love it when he tears goalies apart (I think his favorite breakfast is goalies in milk). But it's nice to see some of the other guys step up. I hope this is a sign of good things to come. Game three is tomorrow night in Seattle.

Also, game five in Spokane has been moved from Friday night to Saturday night so it doesn't interfere with the Gonzaga game which would have been played at the same time. I know this really frustrates me, but deep down I kinda understand it. It doesn't matter how many Memorial Cups the Chiefs win. They will always play second fiddle to Gonzaga. And I know that many people would rather watch Gonzaga on TV than go see the Chiefs play a home playoff game. More people will show up on Saturday. However, this will not stop me from hoping that North Carolina crushes the Zags on Friday night. Go Heels!

Think I'll get hate mail for that? Don't care.

Anyway, Go Chiefs!

Goal scorers wanted!

Well, so much for the sweep. Seattle won game 2 of the series 2-1 to tie things up at 1. There are a lot of things that the Chiefs need to do better and fast.

First off, let's talk about scoring. Spokane's three goals in this series so far came from Drayson Bowman, Drayson Bowman, and Drayson Bowman. See a pattern? We really need someone other than #27 to start stepping up. Mitch Wahl and Levko Koper have been sub-par lately, as well as Tyler Johnson. Also, and it pains me to say it, but Ondrej Roman has not been very Ondrej Roman like. Hopefully they can break this slump.

On the bright side, Trevor Glass shound be back for Tuesday's game and Ryan Letts is done with his suspension. Hopefully with Glass back Dustin Donaghy can be a forward once again. I will say that Donaghy has filled in well as a defensemen with everyone on our defense getting hurt. It we get back Reddington that will give us seven defensemen, which is more than we've had for a while.

Also, one more thing: No more delaying start times so people can watch Gonzaga basketball! Look, I enjoy college basketball as well, but hockey playoffs are hockey playoffs! No more delaying start times.

Game 3 is in Seattle tomorrow. Go Chiefs!

In Bowman We Trust!

I am seriously going to miss Drayson Bowman next season when he's playing in the NHL.

Bowman knows one speed on the ice - fast. He plays hard every shift regardless of the score or what's at stake. This is one of the reasons I'm glad he plays for Spokane. Bowman notched the only two goals for the Chiefs as they outlasted Seattle 2-1 to open the best of seven series in the first round of the playoffs. Drayson Bowman is so skilled the other teams have got to be trying to put a GPS tracker on him so they can follow him around the ice, and even that might not be enough. Tokarski was money in the pipes again, stopping 31 shots including a breakaway attempt to start the third period that left the score tied at 1. Chiefs are back on the ice Saturday for game 2.

While I'm on the subject of Dustin Tokarski I have a question for the WHL. How in the blue blazes do you not name Tokarski first team goalie for the western conference? Instead you give it to Chet Pickard. Really? Pickard? Are you kidding me? It has to be because Tri-City had more wins this season than Spokane because you can't possibly be using anything else to make that decision (by the way, if you were going off of wins it should have gone to Sexsmith, especially after looking at Vancouver's record). Just look at the numbers: Tokarski has a GAA of less than 2.00 - best in the WHL. Tokarski had seven shutouts - best in the WHL. Also, and this is the big one as far as I'm concerned, the Spokane Chiefs were UNBEATEN when scoring three or more goals this season. The main reason? There's a guy in goal for Spokane with the number 34 on his jersey. Also, he has done this with a defense that has been banged up all year long. He helped the Chiefs win the Memorial Cup and help Canada win the World Juniors. What more do you want from him? Put #34 in the net and I'm all happy inside.

Sorry. Had to rant about that. Game 2 is tomorrow. Go Chiefs!

Playoff Time!

Well, I'm back. I know it's been a couple of weeks, but a lot has happened in my personal life that I have needed to attend to. You know the saying 'when it rains it pours'? In this case it's true. I have still been going to the games but I haven't been able to focus on the blog so I just put it on the back burner while I dealt with things. It is at this time that I feel I can close the book on this chapter of my life - with no regret - and get back to it.

Well, a lot happened in the Chiefs world. They lost the third seed to Kelowna and will start the playoffs as the fourth seed against Seattle. For some reason this should worry me, but it doesn't. I mean, the Chiefs were 5-4 against Seattle this season and they played us tough every game. I would have preferred Kamploops in the first round so the selfish part of me could see Seth Compton play one last time. As it stands though we have Seattle and a likely match up with Vancouver in the second round. I really believe we'll handle Seattle, perhaps even easily. After all, Everett gave us fits last season before we swept them from the playoffs. Time will tell. Also, because they play Tri-City in the first round Everett is now my second favorite team in the WHL right now.

As how they ended the season I can't really complain. Several of the Chiefs players ended up with food poisoning over the weekend. The Saturday and Sunday games were postponed to Monday and Tuesday night. The Chiefs played Kelowna to a 1-0 loss on Monday and turned around and bear Tri-City 2-1 to end the regular season. Not bad considering they were still recovering. One thing I have to know from Kelowna: What was the deal with those jerseys? I have no idea what type of 'creature' was on the front of that jersey. It looked like a Pokemon character. All I wanted to well at the game was 'Fight Pikachu!'. Do yourself a favor, don't ever wear those again. Ever.

Playoffs start Friday at home with game one with game two on Saturday. Both games are in Spokane. Time to get the playoff game on!

Go Chiefs!

Here Comes the Hammer.

I can't say this was unexpected but the WHL handed out their suspensions from the Spokane vs. Tri-City game on Saturday. Ryan Letts is suspended indefinitely for charging (and injuring) Pickard, and Cory Baldwin gets a one game suspension. Coach Sauter also gets a one game suspension. For Tri-City Mitch McColm is also suspended indefinitely and assistant coach Terry Virtue was fined for his actions. Both teams were fined as a result of the brawls on Saturday.

I figured this would happen. There have been a lot of 'events' happening in the WHL lately. There were fights between Seattle and Portland, as well as several fights, brawls, and other happenings involving Lethbridge (Kyle Beach has been suspended six games since his trade to Lethbridge). It was only a matter of time before the WHL started suspending coaches as well as the players. Not a bad idea if you ask me. With the playoffs fast approaching I would sure like to see this a lot less.

I'm worried about the Baldwin suspension. He was one of the five healthy defensemen that we has left. Like Letts and Sauter he will miss Tuesday's game against Seattle. I did note however that Trevor Glass is no longer on the Chiefs injury report. I hope that's a good sign. Stefan Ulmer should also be back from his concussion this week as well. Either way, Tuesday's lineup against Seattle ought to be interesting.

Home stretch

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I dealt with a family tragedy over the past week and haven't felt like blogging at all. Now that I'm back let's talk hockey and what has happened over the past week and a half.

I really wish the news was better. Tri has pretty much wrapped up the U.S. division title and the second seed in the playoffs and Kelowna has pulled within one point of the Chiefs for the third seed in the playoffs (the Chiefs have a game in hand on Kelowna). Our list of injuries to defensemen also grew with Stefan Ulmer and Trevor Glass out. That leaves the Chiefs with five true defensemen with Dustin Donaghy filling in on defense to give Spokane three defensive lines.

There were some bright moments, like Drayson Bowman's four goal night in Kamploops last week, and a two goal performance by rookie Blake Gal in an 8-0 win over Portland on Friday. The Chiefs should also get back Ulmer this week and possibly Glass by the weekend. We'll need them. And I know it's not the Chiefs but the Saginaw Spirit (my adopted OHL team) clinched a playoff spot and are positioning themselves to the the third seed in their playoffs.

The most talked about game, however, is the game vs. Tri-City on Saturday on pink ice night. The score will be mentioned: a 5-2 Chiefs loss. But what is talked about the most were the fights. Lots and lots of fights in the third period highlighted by two different line brawls. So many players were sent to the locker rooms that the Chiefs had only eight players left at the end of the game, and six of them were on the ice. It was only Bowman and Reid on the bench. Cruise Reddick cemented himself as my least favorite Tri-City player when he attacked Jared Spurgeon from behind. Anyway, feel free to check out the Chiefs website and click on the game report to look at the penalties (342 minutes of penalties in all). But be sure go to the bathroom first and maybe even fix yourself something to drink. It will take a while. The only player I will give props to is Drayson Bowman for scoring his 40th goal of the season. With eight games left in the regular season he has an outside shot at 50.

Spokane will play four games on the road this week in Seattle, a BIG one against Kelowna, and two games in Prince George. Go Chiefs!

Hattie With an Encore!

I suppose it was only a matter of time that two Spokane Chiefs would get a hattie in the same game. With the way they've been scoring I'm a little surprised it didn't happen sooner. But it did happen: The Chiefs beat Seattle 7-3 and we get to see two hatties!

One of the hatties came from Drayson Bowman, his second hattie of the season. What made his unique was that two of the three goals came off of penalty shots. The first penalty shot was the result of a Seattle defensemen covering up the puck. Bowman made such a great move as if to say 'You can't stop me even if I drag the puck across the crease'. The other occurred when Bowman was pulled down on a shorthanded breakaway. The other goal was a power play goal. What's the lesson here? You can't stop Drayson Bowman even if you cheat!

The other hattie came from Tyler Johnson who recorded his first hattie as a Spokane Chief. Nothing unique here, just Tyler being Tyler. Johnson has noticeably stepped up his game over the past couple of weeks. The other goal came from Ondrej Roman (here's hoping he gets a hattie before the end of the season). Mitch Wahl still isn't scoring goals much, but he is passing the puck around better, getting three assists on the night (an assist hattie!). This team is really putting it together. When they bring their 'A' game I'll put them up against anyone else in the WHL. I also think I used the word 'hattie' more in this post than any other. But just in case here's a few more: Hattie! Hattie! Hattie!

With the win Spokane stays two points back of Tri-City. They also clinch home ice in the first round of the WHL playoffs. They play Seattle again on Friday in Seattle and then travel to Tri-City on Saturday for a showdown with the Ams.

Go Chiefs!

Five Goal Magic

I know what you're thinking: Five goals? How can you consider that magical? I mean, how many times have the Chiefs scored five goals in a game this season anyway? After all, the Chiefs had some nine goal magic in Everett a few weeks back, plus the eleven goal magic against Edmonton on Saturday. It should be hard to consider a five goal night magical.

But it was. It really was.

Would it help if I said that Prince George led 3-0 after two periods? Kevin Armstrong was impressive in net for Prince George (yes, the same Kevin Armstrong that used to play for the Chiefs). However the Chiefs tried they just couldn't find their way past him. He was on his game. Things had to change. Everyone started pulling out the rally caps (I didn't have a hat so I opted for the rally jersey). It seemed to work because Spokane came out in the third and pressured the defense big time. They were rewarded quickly with a goal by Justin McCrae just a couple of minutes in the third. Drayson Bowman scored soon after to cut the lead to 3-2.

At this point you could see it: Armstrong was rattled. Even underneath his goalie mask you could see it. Even though Prince George was ahead they were in trouble.

The breakthrough came on the power play with just over two minutes left when Bowman scored again to tie the game at 3. And just when you think the game is headed to overtime HERE COMES ONDREJ ROMAN who takes a feed from Brady Calla and puts it past Armstrong with just 38 seconds left to give Spokane a 4-3 lead. Add an empty netter from Levko Koper and you have five goal magic: Spokane 5, Prince George 3. Hopefully we won't make a habit of this, though. As cool as it was to witness it was just Prince George. If that was Calgary, Vancouver, or even Tri-City we don't likely come back from that. So let's not make a habit of that.

Spokane has now won four straight and is close enough to Tri-City to tap them on the shoulder and say "excuse us, but we're going to move past you now'. Spokane hosts Seattle on Wednesday before traveling to Seattle on Friday. Then it's showdown time at Tri-City in a big one on Saturday.

Go Chiefs!

Pond Hockey....Chiefs Style!

There are beatdowns, and then there are BEATDOWNS! This was the latter.

The Spokane Chiefs started the scoring early and never let off the throttle as they blasted the Edmonton Oil Kings 11-2. The Chiefs pressured Edmonton with such consistency that was downright impressive. Four goals in the first, four in the second, and three in the third. Eight players scored for the Chiefs. Drayson Bowman, Tyler Johnson, and Dustin Donaghy each had two goals. One of Tyler Johnson's came shorthanded with the assist from Levko Koper who had the attention of basically the entire Edmonton team. The single goal scorers were Bret Bartman, Levko Koper, Blake Gal, Jared Sgurgeon, and Ondrej Roman. Roman scored in the first with a guy on his back so tight it looked like he was giving piggy back rides. Note to the Oil Kings: Ondrej Roman doesn't give piggy pack rides! He just scores on you.

This was a fun game! It's not often you see a team score this many goals. I had never seen the Chiefs ever get past nine goals in a game before. They also continue to be unselfish with the puck. Normally in a game like this someone gets a hattie. Not in this case, however.

Spokane plays Prince George tonight. If the Chiefs can win this one they will pull within two points of idle Tri-City and this will get very interesting down the stretch run. Spokane still plays Tri four more times so anything is possible.

Go Chiefs!

What Everett is good for.

Now I know why I'm glad the Everett Silvertips are in the same division that we are. It helps the Chiefs to end slumps and bad games.

Spokane rolled into Everett on Wednesday and took care of business 5-2. Mitch Wahl snapped out of his slump and scored just 28 seconds into the game. Drayson Bowman continues to freak out goalies, scoring two more goals. Justin McCrae and Mike Reddington got the other two goals. Reddington and Ondrej Roman each had two assists. Dustin Tokarski was solid in net again, stopping 35 shots. The Chiefs have flat out OWNED the Silvertips this season. They've won all but one of the games against Everett this season, including a 9-1 beatdown in Everett and a pair of shutouts. Good thing to note considering that Spokane may get Everett AGAIN in the first round of the playoffs this year.

I also saw in the box score that Stefan Ulmer actually fought against Everett's Dan Iwanski. I really wish that they showed this game on TV. Not only am I glad that Ulmer stood up for himself, but I also have someone from Everett to direct my hockey rage at in the absense of Kyle Beach. Someone please have a video of that!

With the win Spokane pulls within six points of Tri-City again. Not bad considering we still have to play Tri four more times. But for now it's at Portland on Friday before back to back homers this weekend against Edmonton and Prince George. I also noticed that it's cheer sticks night on Saturday. Wow. Cheer sticks on Valentine's Day. Not sure that was a good idea.