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Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs Playoff Report

March 18, 2013 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


As the fourth seed in the Western Conference, the Spokane Chiefs will have home ice advantage against their opponent, the fifth seeded Tri-City Americans, in the first round of the WHL Playoffs. Spokane will host the first two games of the series on Friday, March 22nd and Saturday, March 23rd before the series shifts to Tri-City for games three, four and, potentially, five. Spokane will host games six and seven, if necessary, on Tuesday, April 2nd and Wednesday, April 3rd.

Tickets to all home games are available by calling the Chiefs ticket office at (509) 535-PUCK (7825) or TicketsWest at (800) 325-SEAT (7328).

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

DATE

EVENT

LOCATION

PRACTICE/

AIR TIME

AVAILABILITY/

GAMETIME

Tuesday, March 19th

Day Off

Wednesday, March 20th

Practice

Spokane Arena

1:00 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 21st

Practice

Spokane Arena

1:00 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

Friday, March 22nd

GM 1 vs. Tri-City Americans

Spokane Arena

6:30 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 23rd

GM 2 vs. Tri-City Americans

Spokane Arena

6:30 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

FIRST ROUND - (4)SPOKANE vs. (5)TRI-CITY

Text Box: WHL PLAYOFFSERIES SCHEDULE Game 1 Friday, March 22nd Tri-City at Spokane 7:05 p.m. Game 2 Saturday, March 23rd Tri-City at Spokane 7:05 p.m. Game 3 Tuesday, March 26th Spokane at Tri-City 7:05 p.m. Game 4 Thursday, March 28th Spokane at Tri-City 7:05 p.m. Game 5* Saturday, March 30th Spokane at Tri-City 7:05 p.m. Game 6* Tuesday, April 2nd Tri-City at Spokane 7:05 p.m. Game 7* Wednesday, April 3rd Tri-City at Spokane 7:05 p.m. *If necessary The Chiefs finished the 12 game regular season series with Tri-City 7-3-2-0, including wins in a home-and-home series on March 15th and 16th in their final two meetings of the year. Spokane was 4-1-0-0 at home and 3-2-1-0 on the road. Of the 12 meetings, three of them went into overtime with the Americans winning two of the three. On average, the Chiefs outshot Tri-City 32.8-29.1 and outscored them 3.58-3.00. Spokane outscored the Americans 15-3 in the second period. Spokane won the first three games of the series and four of the first five. Each team scored the first goal of the game six times. The team that scored first was 9-3. Spokane led (5-3) or was tied (2-1) after two periods 11 times. Tri-City accounted for three of the five games Spokane lost this season when leading after two periods. Brenden Kichton finished the regular season series with two goals and 15 points while Mitch Holmberg had seven goals and 11 points. Of Reid Gow's 11 points, 10 were assists. Mike Aviani had four goals, 10 points and was +7. The Chiefs were 9-47 (19.1%) on the power play and 33-36 (91.7%) on the penalty kill.

REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Date Opponent Score GWG GOALS W/Goalie L/Goalie PP PK Shots Atten.

09.22.12 at Tri-City 5-2 W Aviani 32,11,16,17,15 Engel Comrie 1-6 3-3 35-31 5,227

09.29.12 vs. Tri-City 5-3 W Holmberg 2,17(3),16 Williams Comrie 1-4 5-5 31-26 8,867

10.27.12 at Tri-City 3-2 W Fiddler 28,16,32 Williams Comrie 1-1 2-2 20-37 4,798

11.23.12 at Tri-City 4-5 ot OTL Stromwall 24,10,8,19 Comrie Williams (otl) 0-2 2-2 39-42 5,184

11.24.12 vs. Tri-City 5-2 W Holmberg 10,32,17,11(2) Williams Comrie 0-5 2-2 29-21 8,310

12.15.12 vs. Tri-City 1-2 L Stromwall 18 Comrie Williams 0-2 1-1 37-20 10,052

12.31.12 at Tri-City 3-6 L Dow 8,10,17 Comrie Williams 0-3 4-5 33-33 6,098

01.19.13 vs. Tri-City 3-4 ot OTL Stromwall 32,15,21 Lee-Knight Williams (otl) 1-3 2-2 42-22 10,366

02.09.13 vs. Tri-City 5-2 W Chartier 25(2),27,14,16 Williams Lee-Knight 1-6 1-1 32-32 10,122

02.16.13 at Tri-City 0-6 L Rankin Trombley Williams 0-4 6-7 34-39 5,449

03.15.13 vs. Tri-City 6-0 W Bertaggia 13,15(2),17,7,28 Williams Trombley 3-7 2-2 28-20 10,367

03.16.13 at Tri-City 3-2 ot W Gal 4,21,10 Hughson Trombley 1-4 3-4 36-26 5,987

PLAYOFF HISTORY - SPOKANE VS. TRI-CITY

Text Box: "BEST OF" SERIES - SPOKANE VS. TRI-CITY 1994-95 - 2nd round - Tri-City wins 4-3 1999-00 - 1st round - Spokane wins 4-0 2001-02 - 1st round - Spokane wins 4-1 2007-08 - Western Conference Final - Spokane wins 4-3 2010-11 - 2nd round - Spokane wins 4-2 2011-12 - 2nd round - Tri-City wins 4-3 The two franchises are facing each other in the WHL Playoffs for the third time in as many years and in a "best of" series for the seventh time ever. Tri-City won a seven game series last season that featured three overtime games and three other one goal decisions. The Chiefs earned a six game series win in 2011 by winning the last two games of the series in overtime. Prior to that, Spokane and Tri-City faced off in a seven game Western Conference Championship series in 2008. The Chiefs advanced on to win the WHL and Memorial Cup titles. The series featured five overtime games, three of which went into double overtime. Spokane and Tri-City first met in the playoffs in a three-team round robin in 1995 with Tacoma. After Tacoma was eliminated, the Chiefs and Americans faced off in a best-of-seven series that went the distance. The series proved to be the final one for Spokane in the old Coliseum as the Spokane Arena opened the following season. Tri-City won an overtime game seven at home. In 2000, Spokane swept the Americans in the first round on their way to the Western Conference title. The Chiefs then won a five game first round series in 2002. The Chiefs and Americans played three straight OT games in 2011 in games four, which went into double overtime, five and six. Put that on top of the three OT games in seven outings last year, five of the seven games in 2008 and three in a row to finish the 2002 series the Chiefs and Americans have gone into overtime in 14 of their last 23 playoff games.

NEWS AND NOTES

PLAYOFF NOTES...Spokane is in the playoffs for the seventh season in a row and for the 24th time in 28 years. Spokane has played 76 playoff games in the previous six post-seasons. The Chiefs have advanced past the first round 17 times, played in seven Western Conference Finals and four WHL Finals, winning two of them. The Chiefs have played in three Memorial Cups, winning it twice (1991, 2008) and hosting it another (1998).

EXPERIENCED...As a group, Spokane has 294 career playoff games amongst its roster. Blake Gal is 10th in franchise history and the active leader with 48 career playoff games. Brenden Kichton has played in 33 career playoff games.

LOOK WHO'S 40...The Chiefs have hit the 40 win plateau for the fifth time in the last six seasons and for the ninth time ever. The Chiefs finished above .500 for the seventh straight season, the longest such streak in franchise history.

HITTING 1,000...The Chiefs won their 1,000th game in franchise history on February 6th with a 5-0 victory over Kelowna. The Chiefs have now won 1,013 games all-time, lost 843 with 159 ending in a tie, shootout loss or overtime loss.

IN YOUR KICHTON...Brenden Kichton finished as the WHL leader in points for a defenseman with 85, the most ever by a blueliner in Chiefs' history, breaking the original franchise record set by Bryan McCabe in 1993-94 (22 goals, 62 assists). Kichton's 63 assists were the 10th most in a single season in franchise history. He became just the second Chief in franchise history to record 200 or more assists. Kichton is second all-time in Chiefs history with 201 assists. He had one goal, 10 points and was +5 in his last five regular season games. In his last 11 he had four goals, 18 points and was +9. Kichton had an 11 game point scoring streak snapped on January 21st at Portland. He had six goals and 17 points during the stretch. Kichton is also the franchise's all-time leader as a defenseman with 67 career goals, 201 career assists and 268 points. Last season Kichton was named the WHL's Western Conference Defenseman of the Year as he led all blueliners with 74 points, including 17 goals and 57 assists. Kichton was selected in the fifth round in 2011 by the New York Islanders. Kichton was named the Chiefs Player of the Year for the second season in a row and was honored as the John "Hitman" Hern Defenseman of the Year for the third straight season.

GAL GAB...Blake Gal scored the overtime game winner against Tri-City on March 16th in a 3-2 victory. Gal had seven goals, 14 points and was +10 in his last 13 games. Gal is fifth all-time in franchise history with 325 career games played as a Chief and scored 74 career goals and 167 career points in five seasons. Gal is 10th all-time in franchise history with 48 career playoff games played.

30 GOAL SCORERS...For just the second time in the last 15 seasons the Chiefs have three 30-goal scorers in Todd Fiddler (42), Mitch Holmberg (39) and Mike Aviani (30). Spokane also had three 30-goal scorers in 2009-10 (Kyle Beach (52), Tyler Johnson (36) and Mitch Wahl (30)). The last time Spokane had four 30-goal scorers was the 1997-98 season (Greg Leeb (46), Trent Whitfield (38), Ty Jones (36) and Marian Cisar (33)).

ALESSIO IS MORE...Alessio Bertaggia had eight goals, 12 points and was +6 in the last eight games of the regular season. Bertaggia recorded his second career hat trick in a 6-3 victory over Everett on March 8th. Bertaggia had 13 goals, including the overtime game winner on March 1st at Victoria, and six assists in 16 games in Spokane. The Chiefs acquired the 19-year-old from Brandon in exchange for 19-year-old forward Marek Kalus, prospect Rhett Gardner, a third round pick in 2013 and a fifth round pick in 2014. He played for Switzerland in the last two World Junior Hockey Championships.

GOOD STRETCH...Spokane finished the regular season 10-2-0-0 in their last 12. They scored six or more goals five times in that stretch, including four in a row from March 8th through the 15th. The Chiefs have went 17-57 (29.8%) on the power play in the last 13 games of the regular season. In the last quarter of the season Spokane was 13-5-0-0, their best stretch of 18 games this season.

BETTING ON BECHTOLD...Markson Bechtold scored his first career goal in a 6-4 win over Prince George on March 12th in just his fourth career WHL game. He finished with two goals in five games. Bechtold was Spokane's third round pick in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft.

WILLY-ING AND ABLE...Eric Williams was 4-1-0-0 with a .925 save percentage, a 2.40 goals against average and a shutout in his last five regular season starts. His 32 wins were the third most in the Western Conference.

HUGH-GE STARTS...Garret Hughson was 6-1 with a 2.69 GAA and .912 save percentage in his last seven starts. Hughson stopped 32 in a 2-0 win over Edmonton on February 23rd for his second shutout of the season.

WALLY'S WORLD...In his last 12, 20-year-old Dylan Walchuk had two goals, seven assists and was +6. He has played 105 career WHL regular season games.

FRAM TOUGH...In the 10 games after returning from a lower body injury defenseman Jason Fram had one goal, three points and was +7. Fram has played 111 career games plus another 13 in the playoffs last season. Fram was named the Chiefs Scholastic Player of the Year.

HOLM-SCHOOL...Mitch Holmberg had an eight game point scoring streak snapped on March 16th at Tri-City. Holmberg had four goals and 10 points in the stretch. He has 12 goals and 19 assists in his last 25 games, including his third hat trick this season at Kamloops on February 1st. Holmberg recorded a career high five points, three goals and two assists, in a 7-6 shootout win over Seattle on December 14th. His 85 career goals are 25th in franchise history. Holmberg played two games in the Subway SuperSeries. Holmberg is a two time winner of the Chiefs' Ken Rabel Most Sportsmanlike Player of the Year.

GET CARTER...Carter Proft led the WHL with 193 penalty minutes. The 18-year-old was the only Chief to appear in all 72 games this season. He scored 11 goals, six more than he had in 50 combined games last year with Brandon and Spokane. Proft scored on a penalty shot on January 9th versus the Seattle Thunderbirds. He was named the Chiefs Players' Player.

ROOFTOPS...With his 40th goal of the season on February 27th at Everett, Todd Fiddler became the 25th player in franchise history to score 40 or more goals. Coming into the season Fiddler had scored 35 in 144 career games. He tied a franchise record for quickest goal to start a period when he scored eight seconds into the third versus Medicine Hat on January 26th. The original mark was set by Tony Horacek in 1988. Fiddler was eighth in the WHL with 42 goals. He recorded his first career hat-trick in a 3-2 win at the Seattle Thunderbirds on November 17th.

NACHBAUR'S NUMBERS...Don Nachbaur earned a 5-2 win over Tri-City in his 1,000th WHL game on November 30th. He became just the fourth man in the history of the league to coach in 1,000 games. To this point of his career Nachbaur is 558-395 with 85 games finishing in a tie, overtime loss or shootout loss. He is fourth all-time in WHL wins. Nachbaur was the head coach of Team WHL at the Subway Super Series vs. Team Russia and was an Assistant for Team Canada at the World Juniors.

AVIANI FLEW...Mike Aviani has played 204 career games in a Chiefs' uniform. Aviani has seven goals and 19 points in his last 21 games. Aviani had his third four point night with a hat trick, his first career, and an assist in a 7-4 win at Prince Albert on December 4th. He has 19 goals and 45 points in his last 42 games. Aviani was named the Chiefs Humanitarian of the Year.

GOW REIGNING SCHOLASTIC PLAYER OF THE YEAR...Reid Gow had 25 points in his last 34 games. Gow was selected as the winner of the 2012 WHL's Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy for the Scholastic Player of the Year last season. Gow earned a cumulative 95% in his core classes. The defenseman from Killarney, Manitoba scored 22 points, including 20 assists, in 54 games last year. Gow recorded a career high four assists, in a 7-2 win over Tri-City on October 1st, 2011.

NHL DRAFT...Brenden Kichton (New York Islanders, 5th round, 2011)

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