In the first 20 games of the season the Spokane Chiefs have played just seven on the road with only two of those games coming on back back-to-back nights, the first two games of the year in Prince George. Spokane will put their bus legs to a test in the next two weeks when they play five straight on the road including three games in as many nights in Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary beginning on Friday night. The stretch will end with two games against U.S. Division opponents on November 25th in Everett and the 27th at Tri-City. The Chiefs won't return home until Saturday, November 28th against Regina.Spokane has posted a respectable 4-2-1-0 record on the road, including wins in their last three trips.
At home the Chiefs are 8-5-0-0, winning four of their last five in the Arena after starting the season at 4-4. Once the five game swing is over, the Chiefs will finish the first half of the season with six of nine games in the Spokane Arena.
Due to a scheduling conflict, Friday night's game can be heard on 105.7 the Peak beginning at 5:30 with Comcast Hockey Tonight.
Saturday and Sunday's games will be broadcast on 1510 KGA. Mike Boyle will go on the air at 6:00 on Saturday night and 3:30 on Sunday from Calgary. The puck will drop a half-an-hour later each night.
Tickets for all home games are available at the Chiefs office at (509) 535-PUCK or TicketsWest at (800) 325-SEAT.
CONRAD REASSIGNED
The Spokane Chiefs have reassigned forward David Conrad to the Winnipeg Saints of the MJHL. Conrad has played 63 games in two seasons, including eight this year. He has scored one goal and three points this season and four goals and 10 points in his career.
The move leaves the Chiefs with 24 players on their roster; 14 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders.
THIS WEEK
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH at EDMONTON OIL KINGS*
Spokane will begin a three game road trip through the Central Division on Friday night when they travel to take on the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Chiefs will visit Edmonton for the second time in Franchise history. On December 4th, 2007, Jared Spurgeon and Mitch Wahl both had goals in Spokane's 5-2 win in their first ever meeting. In Edmonton's lone trip to Spokane last year the Chiefs earned an 11-2 win. The Chiefs outshot Edmonton 42-24, including 16-4 in the first. Spurgeon had one goal and four assists, Levko Koper had one goal and three assists and Tyler Johnson had two goals and an assist. Brett Bartman also had a goal and an assist. Spokane was 2-4 on the power play and 1-1 on the penalty kill.
*Friday's game can be heard on 105.7 the Peak in Spokane.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST at RED DEER REBELS
For the first time since a 2-0 win on December 2nd, 2007 the Chiefs will visit Red Deer to take on the Rebels. Spokane outshot Red Deer 42-18. Since 1992-93 the Chiefs are 15-9 with one tie against Red Deer and 11-4 in their last 15 meetings. Last year James Reid made 27 saves in his first career shutout in the Spokane Arena on November 5th, 2008 making it consecutive 2-0 wins. Levko Koper and Mitch Wahl had the goals for the Chiefs. Spokane was 1-3 on the power play and 5-5 on the penalty kill.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND at CALGARY HITMEN
Spokane will travel to Calgary to take on the Hitmen in their only meeting of the season. The Chiefs and Hitmen have gone to overtime in their last three meetings with Spokane winning the last two. Calgary won a 4-3 shootout on February 2nd, 2007 in Spokane. On November 30th, 2007 Spokane earned a 2-1 decision in Calgary and then a 4-3 shootout win last year in the Spokane Arena. Tyler Johnson scored for the Chiefs in the win last year. Calgary outshot Spokane 38-26 as the Chiefs were 2-3 on the power play and 5-6 on the penalty kill.
NEWS AND NOTES
BEACH PARTY...Kyle Beach scored his 100th career goal on Saturday, November 14th with his third goal of the game in a 6-1 win over Kamloops in the Spokane Arena. It was his second hat-trick of the season and he now has 13 goals and 18 points in his last nine games and has points in 13 of 17 games. In a team high seven game point streak he has eight goals, 12 points and is a +9. His 18 goals lead the Chiefs and are third in the WHL and four game winners are second. Spokane acquired the forward from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on September 23rd. Beach was the Chicago Blackhawks first round draft selection, 11th overall, in 2008. Beach has 100 goals, 212 career points and 650 penalty minutes in 201 career games. As a 16-year-old with the Everett Silvertips in 2006-07 he was named the WHL Rookie of the Year.
REID BETWEEN THE LINES...James Reid has won his last six starts, allowed just four goals, posted two shutouts, a 0.67 GA and.975 save percentage during the streak. Reid was named the CHL Goaltender of the Week on November 9th after winning three straight games allowing one goal per game. He recorded the second shutout of the season, and his sixth career, on November 15th in a 26 save, 1-0 win at home versus Kelowna. The 19-year-old Reid finished his rookie season with four shutouts in 17 starts. Reid also had a 1.72 goals against average and.937 save percentage. The Calgary native posted an 11-5-0-1 on the season last year.
20-YEAR-OLD SPURGEON...Jared Spurgeon has four points and is +2 in his first two games of the year. Spurgeon played his first game of the season on November 14th versus Kamloops and had three assists in a 6-1 win. The 20-year-old has played 213 career games in Spokane and has 29 goals 97 assists and 126 points in his five seasons in Spokane. He has won the Chiefs John "Hitman" Hern Defenseman of the Year award two straight seasons.
LETTS TALK...Twenty-year-old Ryan Letts made his season debut on November 15th in a 1-0 win at home against Kelowna. Letts is in his fifth season in the WHL, third with the Chiefs after breaking in with the Calgary Hitmen. Letts has played 205 games, has scored 13 goals, including eight last year, and 34 points. Letts has also amassed 259 career penalty minutes.
MY SPECIALTY...The Chiefs are 36-40 (90.0%) on the penalty kill in their last 10 games have raised their penalty kill percentage from 78.6% to 83.3%. Spokane is now 10-35 (28.6%) in their last 10 games on the power play and have raised their average on the man-advantage from 15.2% to 21.4% during that span.
SHOOTING PAINS...Spokane has outshot the opposition in 16 of the 20 games this season, including a streak of 12 in a row that ended on November 10th. The Chiefs are 11-5 when outshooting the opposition. On September 18th, the first game of the season, Spokane had 52 shots on net accomplishing a feat they achieved twice last year.
COWEN AND KOPER CHOSEN FOR TEAM WHL... Jared Cowen and Levko Koper of the Spokane Chiefs have both been named to the Western Hockey League roster that will compete in 2009 SUBWAY(r) Super Series against Team Russia. The WHL will be playing games five and six of the series on November 25th and November 26th in Victoria, BC and Kelowna, BC, respectively. Cowen and Koper will participate in the game on November 25th and miss the Chiefs road game at Everett that night. The 2009 SUBWAY(r) Super Series marks the seventh straight year that teams of CHL All-Stars have competed against Team Russia in preparation for the World Junior Hockey Championships. The SUBWAY(r) Super Series is an integral part of the evaluation process prior to Team Canada's final selection camp in December. This season, Canada will be competing for a record sixth straight gold medal at the 2010 tournament in Saskatoon and Regina, SK.
COWEN'S CONTRIBUTION...Chief Captain Jared Cowen has four assists in his last six games and is +9 in his last seven games. Cowen has three goals and 12 points in 18 games this year. Cowen was named team captain on October 1st. The 18-year-old was the Ottawa Senators first round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft and Canada's World Junior Evaluation Camp. The World Junior Hockey Championships will be played in Regina, SK and Saskatoon, SK beginning on December 26th.
KOPER'S COLLECTION...Levko Koper has played 210 career games in a Spokane sweater. The 19-year-old has 10 goals and 19 points in 20 games, including a hat-trick on September 18th at Prince George. It was his second hat-trick of his career. His first career hat-trick came on November 1st, 2008 in a 5-1 win over Kootenay. Koper has points in 13 of 20 games this year. Last season he set a career high with 23 goals. The Atlanta Thrashers selected Koper in the seventh round of last summer's NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old played at the 2009 CHL Top Prospects game. Koper scored two goals in the 2008 Memorial Cup, including an overtime game winner against Belleville.
200 BRICKS IN THE WAHL...Mitch Wahl had a five game goal scoring streak snapped on November 15th. In his last seven games he has five goals and 11 points. Wahl's two assist night on October 28th put him over the 200 point mark in his career. The 19-year-old is the 21st player in Chiefs history to achieve that feat. In October, Wahl has signed a three-year-entry level contract with the Calgary Flames. Wahl was a second-round pick in the 2008 Draft and registered 32 goals and 67 points last season with Spokane, both second on the team. The 19-year-old is back in a Chiefs' sweater for his fourth season and has seven goals and 25 points in 20 games this year. Wahl is also a +9. The Seal Beach, CA native has 138 career regular season assists, 13th all-time in franchise history. The 19-year-old led the Chiefs last year with a +42. In 2007-08, he led the club with 53 assists, seventh in the WHL, and finished second on the team in scoring with 73 points. Wahl also finished tied for fifth in the WHL with a +33. Wahl played for the U.S. at last year's World Junior Championships and attended the United States evaluation camp this fall.
JOHNNY B GOOD...Spokane native Tyler Johnson has four goals and seven points in his last nine games and nine goals and 17 points in 20 games this year. Johnson is in his third season in Spokane after he tallied 26 goals last year. Johnson is the first Spokane product to play for the United States at the World Junior Hockey Championships when he took part in their fifth place finish last year. Johnson attended the Minnesota Wild's camp in the pre-season and was named the 2008 Western Hockey League Finals MVP against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He also participated in the Phoenix Coyotes camp in 2008.
ULMER NOTES...Stefan Ulmer has two goals and eight points in his last 11 games. The 19-year-old had a four game point streak snapped on October 10th versus Seattle. During the span Ulmer had one goal and seven points. Ulmer is the Chiefs leading scorer from the blueline and has played 120 career games in Spokane. Ulmer was named the Best Defenseman of the 2009 IIHF Group B World Junior Hockey Championships after leading his native country Austria to the gold. Ulmer also led the tournament in scoring with five goals and 11 points in helping Austria win the tournament.
TADJDEH'S TOTALS...Michael Tadjdeh won his first two career starts in a Spokane jersey. In four starts in Spokane, Tadjdeh has a 2.53 goals against average, a.917 save percentage and a 2-2 record. His first win came in his first start with a 24 save effort on October 17th versus Kootenay. The Chiefs acquired the goaltender from the Lethbridge. Tadjdeh is in his second season in the WHL after appearing in 21 games last season with the Hurricanes.
CRAZY BRASSART...Brady Brassart, Spokane's second round selection in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft, has scored goals in consecutive games, including the lone goal in a 1-0 win on November 15th at home versus Kelowna. His first career goal came the previous night in a 6-1 win against Kamloops.
CAREER FIRSTS... Post Falls native Tanner Mort recorded his first career WHL point with an assist on September 26th in a 5-2 win over Tri-City. Mort was the Chiefs fourth round bantam selection in 2008. Mitch Holmberg, the Chiefs first round pick in 2008, had an assist on the Chiefs second goal on October 2nd for his first career WHL point and scored his first career goal on October 16th at Kootenay. Matt Marantz had his first career goal and point on October 9th in a 5-2 win over Prince Albert.
BANTAM DRAFT...14 players on the Chiefs roster were products of their Bantam Draft, including three former first round selections; Mitch Wahl (2005), Jared Cowen (2006) and Mitch Holmberg (2008). Of the eight defensemen on the roster, Spokane selected six of them in the bantam draft.
NHL DRAFT...Kyle Beach (1st round, Chicago, 2008), Mitch Wahl (2nd round, Calgary, 2008), Jared Spurgeon (6th round, New York Islanders, 2008), Jared Cowen (Ottawa, 1st round, 2009), Levko Koper (7th round, Atlanta, 2009)
INJURY REPORT...none to report
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