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by Spokane Chiefs hockey
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Spokane fell behind Calgary 2-0 before rattling
off four consecutive goals as the Chiefs defeated the Hitmen 4-3 in front of
3,533 fans at the Spokane Arena Wednesday night. Eric Williams stopped 31 shots
and Todd Fiddler and Dylan Walchuk each picked up a goal and an assist as the
Chiefs improved to 19-10-0-0 at home and 33-22-2-0 overall.
Calgary
skated out to a 1-0 lead in a penalty-filled first period as Hitmen center Brady
Brassart scored on an open net at 8:27 after Williams got tangled up with Cody
Sylvester and hit the ice. The two teams combined for a total of 36 penalty
minutes in the period including a pair of game misconducts.
Spokane's
best scoring opportunity came at the 11:30 mark, as Walchuk caught a pass just
to the right of the crease and fired a shot, but Chris Driedger made a diving
save to keep the Chiefs off the board. Calgary outshot Spokane 16-10 for the
period.
The Hitmen extended their lead to 2-0 early in the second with
Sylvester grabbing a fortuitous bounce and slipping a shot past Williams on the
power play at 1:59. That would be Calgary's only score of the period, as the
rest of the second belonged to Spokane.
Walchuk got the Chiefs on the
board for the first time at 9:29 as he rebounded a shot and found the back of
the net with assists from Mitch Holmberg and Fiddler. Spokane then used a 5-on-3
advantage to notch the equalizer with Brenden Kichton sending a one-timer past
Driedger at the 12:24 mark on assists from Reid Gow and Adam Helewka.
The Chiefs scored their third consecutive goal and grabbed a 3-2 lead at
18:49 as Carter Proft rebounded his own shot and scored top shelf with assists
from Connor Chartier and Liam Stewart. Spokane outshot Calgary 17-7 in the
period.
Fiddler made it four in a row for the Chiefs with a goal at
10:57 in the third on assists from Holmberg and Walchuk. Calgary closed the gap
to just one score with a goal from Victor Rask at 17:49 but the Hitmen couldn't
beat Williams again in the game's final minutes.
Williams finished 31 of
34 on save opportunities while Driedger was 32 of 36. Spokane went 1 for 4 on
the power play and 3 of 4 on the penalty kill.
Tonight's three stars:
Eric Williams (1st), Dylan Walchuk (2nd), Cody Sylvester (3rd).
The
Chiefs hit the road for a three game swing through Everett, Tri-City, and
Portland before returning to Spokane on Friday, February 22nd for a 7:05 PM
matchup with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
