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Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs Weekly Report - Chiefs Leave on Long Road Trip

November 27, 2012 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH

at SWIFT CURRENT BRONCOS

AIR-4:30

GAME-5:00

RADIO-1510 KGA

The Chiefs will travel to Swift Current for the first of a six game in nine night road trip through the East Division. It will be Spokane's first trip to play the Broncos since November 6th, 2011, a 3-1 Spokane win. Collin Valcourt scored a goal as Spokane outshot the Broncos 50-21. Spokane won last season's lone meeting, a 3-2 contest in the Spokane Arena on November 23rd, 2011. Brenden Kichton had a goal and assist as Spokane outshot Swift Current 50-21. Since the 1998-99 season, the Chiefs are 11-5-0 versus the Broncos. The Chiefs finished 6-0 versus the East Division at home last season.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1ST

at REGINA PATS

AIR-4:30

GAME-5:00

RADIO-790 KJRB

The Chiefs' second stop on their six game swing will be in Regina, where Spokane earned an 11-1 win two seasons ago by outshooting the Pats 44-21. Collin Valcourt and Marek Kalus, with two, both scored for the Chiefs. Spokane was 2-4 on the power play and 5-5 on the penalty kill in their last trip there, October 30th, 2010. Last season in Regina's only trip to Spokane, the Chiefs won 6-5 after a nine round shootout. Spokane sent the game to overtime with a goal with just 1:01 remaining. Carter Proft and Blake Gal, who had a goal and assist, scored for the Chiefs. Spokane has won four of the last five meetings, including three in a row.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4TH

at PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS

AIR-4:30

GAME-5:00

RADIO-1510 KGA

Eric Williams and Todd Fiddler will return to Prince Albert for the first time since a late December, 2011 trade that brought them to Spokane. Fiddler scored the eventual game winning goal for the Raiders the last time Spokane visited Prince Albert, November 3rd, 2010. Spokane lost 5-2 after being outshot 36-28. Spokane earned a 3-2 overtime win over Prince Albert in their only game last season in the Arena. Collin Valcourt scored for the Chiefs as Spokane outshot P.A. 42-22. Neither team scored in four power play chances. The Chiefs are 13-10 with one tie versus the Raiders since the 1995-96 season.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5TH

at SASKATOON BLADES

AIR-4:30

GAME-5:00

RADIO-790 KJRB

Spokane will travel to play the Memorial Cup Host Saskatoon Blades in their fourth stop in the East Division. It will be Spokane's first trip to Saskatoon since a 3-2 win on November 2nd, 2010. The Chiefs scored all three of their goals in the first period, two of them by Brenden Kichton. Both teams went 0-3 on the power play and the Chiefs outshot Saskatoon 29-23. Last season, Marek Kalus had two goals, Blake Gal scored once and Mike Aviani had a pair of assists in a 5-3 win. Spokane was 1-5 on the power play and 3-5 on the penalty kill. Spokane outshot Saskatoon 39-21. The Chiefs have 15 wins in the last 21 meetings dating back to 1995-96.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7TH

at BRANDON WHEAT KINGS

AIR-5:30

GAME-6:00

RADIO-1510 KGA

For the first time since November 5th, 2010, the Chiefs will travel to play the Brandon Wheat Kings. Last season, in Brandon's lone trip to the Spokane Arena, Spokane earned a 4-3 win behind a goal from Brenden Kichton and two assists by Blake Gal. Spokane was 2-5 on the power play and outshot the Wheat Kings 37-26. Two seasons ago, Brandon scored three power play goals, including one 2:29 into overtime, to pick up the win. The Chiefs hold a 14-7-1 record in the regular season versus the Wheaties since the 1995-96 season. Brandon defeated the Chiefs in a five game series in the '95-'96 WHL Finals.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8TH

at MOOSE JAW WARRIORS

AIR-4:30

GAME-5:00

RADIO-790 KJRB

Spokane's first trip to Moose Jaw's two-year-old Mosiac Place will be their final contest of a six game in nine night trip. The Chiefs defeated the Warriors 5-2 last season in Moose Jaw's only trip to the Spokane Arena. Mitch Holmberg had a goal and assist and Todd Fiddler and Blake Gal also scored goals. Mike Aviani had an assist. In their final game in the Civic Center, on October 29th, 2010, the Chiefs lost 3-2. Spokane was 1-4 on the power play and 3-4 on the penalty kill. Moose Jaw outshot the Chiefs 43-23. In their last eight seasons, Spokane is 6-2 versus Moose Jaw.

NEWS AND NOTES

NACHBAUR'S 1,000TH...Spokane Chief Head Coach Don Nachbaur picked up a 5-2 win over Tri-City in his 1,000th WHL game on November 30th at home. He became just the fourth man in the history of the league coach in 1,000 games. To this point of his career Nachbaur is 534-382 with 84 games finishing in a tie, overtime loss or shootout loss. Nachbaur coached 408 games in Seattle winning 202 times and 423 games in Tri-City with 229 wins. Nachbaur was the head coach of Team WHL for the Subway Super Series and went 1-1 in the two games versus Team Russia. Nachbaur will also be an Assistant Coach on Canada's National Junior Team for the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship in Ufa, Russia. Steve Spott, head coach and general manager of the OHL's Kitchener Rangers, will be the head coach. Former captain and assistant coach Kevin Sawyer will join the organization in an interim basis as a Coaching Assistant while Nachbaur attends to his duties with Hockey Canada. Jon Klemm will be the head coach while Nachbaur is away, beginning December 8th. Nachbaur will not return until early January.

ROOFTOPS...Todd Fiddler has six goals in his last four games including his first career hat-trick in a 3-2 win at the Seattle Thunderbirds on November 17th. Fiddler is third in the WHL with 18 goals and now has 16 goals and 22 points in his last 15 games. Between Spokane and Prince Albert last year Fiddler played 73 games. Overall he had 12 goals and 28 points after tallying 8-10-18 in 38 games with Spokane.

BACK-TO-BACK...The Chiefs posted back-to-back shutouts for the seventh time in franchise history and for just the second time with two different goaltenders. Eric Williams made 26 saves in a 5-0 win over Everett on November 3rd and Garret Hughson stopped 22 in a 4-0 win over the Silvertips on November 6th. It is the first time since Kevin Opshal and Jim Watt stopped 31 and 25 shots, respectively, in November, 2004 versus Portland and Everett that two separate goaltenders had shutouts. James Reid is the last Chief goaltender to have back-to-back shutouts, doing it in December, 2010 versus Vancouver and Seattle.

THAT WAS FAST...The Chiefs scored two goals 15-seconds apart and had three over a 1:11 span in an 8-2 victory over Seattle on October 30th in the Spokane Arena. The franchise record for fastest two goals by the Chiefs was seven seconds set on November 21st, 2011 at Portland by Blake Gal and Anthony Bardaro. The franchise record for fastest three goals is 51-seconds set on February 6th, 1986 by Rick Hebert and Terry Perkins, who had two.

GAL GAB...Blake Gal has goals in back-to-back games after his return to the line-up from injury. Gal had missed 14 games with a lower body injury. The 20-year-old has played 278 career games, 12th in Spokane Chiefs history.

AVIANI FLEW...Mike Aviani has five goals, 18 points and is +13 in his last 15 games. He is also a team leading +20.

HOLM-SCHOOL...Mitch Holmberg played both games of the Subway SuperSeries and recorded four shots on goal. Holmberg had a goal and assist in a 5-2 win over Kamloops on November 9th after missing five games with an injury. He has five three point nights this season including a one goal and two assists on October 23rd at Prince George (6-1 win). Holmberg led Spokane with 11 goals in the playoffs, including two in overtime.

HUH-LEWKA, I LIVE ON THE SECOND FLOOR...Adam Helewka has five goals and 11 points in his last 15, including two goals in a 2-1 win on October 19th over the Seattle Thunderbirds. Helewka was originally listed by Spokane in December, 2011.

Text Box: SPOKANE CHIEFS DEFENSEMEN - ALL-TIME LEADERS CAREER GOALS CAREER ASSISTS CAREER POINTS 1- Brenden Kichton-54 1- Brenden Kichton - 158 1- Brenden Kichton - 212 2- Sean Gillam - 40 2- Frank Evans - 146 2- Bryan McCabe - 184 3- Bryan McCabe-39 3-Bryan McCabe - 145 3- Sean Gillam - 182 4- Jared Cowen-37 4- Sean Gillam - 142 4- Frank Evans - 177 Jared Spurgeon-37 5- Jared Spurgeon - 133 5- Jared Spurgeon - 170 IN YOUR KICHTON...Brenden Kichton has five goals, 13 points and is a +11 in his last 10 games. Kicthon recorded his 50th career goal and 200th career point on October 30th in an 8-2 win over Seattle. Kichton recorded two goals and two assists in a 5-3 win over the Victoria Royals on October 5th. Kichton has become the all-time leading scorer as a defenseman in Chiefs history and now has 212 points, which is tied for 20th overall. His 287 career games are ninth in franchise history. Kichton was named Captain of the Chiefs in a pre-game ceremony prior to their home opener on September 29th, 2012. 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.

GOW SCHOLASTIC PLAYER OF THE YEAR...Reid Gow has one goal, four points and is a +4 in his last three games. Gow has points in 14 of 21 games this season with three goals and 16 assists. Gow was selected as the winner of the 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.

WALLY'S WORLD...Dylan Walchuk's 18 assists in 24 games are already four better than he had in 34 games last season as a rookie. Walchuk had 10-14-24 last season. He has 6-18-24 in 24 games this year. Walchuk scored the game winning goal versus Prince George on October 20th with just 24-seconds remaining to preserve a 3-2 victory. In 2010-11 he led the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL in points with 24-32-56. He added another 13-7-20 in 24 playoff games as Vernon finished as a runner-up in the Royal Bank Cup Championship, the Canadian Junior A National Title, one year after winning it. Walchuk joined the Chiefs after splitting time in 2011-12 at Northern Michigan University and Vernon.

IN THE CREASE...Eric Williams recorded his first shutout as a Chief with a 26 save effort on November 3rd, 2012 in a 5-0 win over Everett. In his last nine games Williams is 6-2-1-0 with a 2.45 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Williams was acquired in a trade in December, 2011 from Prince Albert. Williams finished last post-season with the league's third best goals against average at 2.22. He won his first five playoff starts and had a .927 post season save percentage.

HUGH-G EFFORT...Garret Hughson earned a shutout with 22 saves in just his third career start in a 4-0 win over Everett on November 6th. Hughson won his first career start with 14 saves in a 6-4 win over Prince George on October 20th.

INJURY REPORT...Marek Kalus (upper body, day-to-day), Tanner Mort (upper body, indefinite)

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

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