NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs Weekly Report

January 14, 2013 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


FRIDAY, JANUARY 18TH

vs. KELOWNA ROCKETS

AIR-6:30

GAME-7:05

RADIO-1510 KGA

TV-NONE

The Chiefs and Rockets will face off in their second of four meetings on the season. Wednesday's game will be the first of a home-and-home series as the Chiefs will host Kelowna on January 18th. Spokane is one of just two teams (Kamloops) to have won a game in Kelowna this season when they skated to a 6-4 victory. The Chiefs scored three goals in the third period. Mitch Holmberg scored twice and Dylan Walchuk had a goal and assist. Each team was 1-4 on the power play. Eric Williams stopped 39 shots. Spokane won the season series last year with a 2-1-0-1 record, including a 1-1 record on the road. On average the Chiefs outshot Kelowna 37.8-21.5. On October 8th Spokane outshot Kelowna 45-12 in a 5-1 win. Spokane outscored Kelowna 13-10 in the series, including 6-1 in the first. Mitch Holmberg had seven goals and nine points in four games and Brenden Kichton scored two goals and seven points. Mike Aviani scored four goals.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19TH

vs. TRI-CITY AMERICANS

AIR-6:30

GAME-7:05

RADIO-790 KJRB

TV-SWX

The Chiefs will host the Tri-City Americans for the fourth time this season in their eight overall meeting of the year. Spokane is 4-2-1-0 versus the Americans having won the first three of the year and four of the first five. Tri-City has won the last two games. Overall, the Chiefs are 2-1-0-0 at home and 2-1-1-0 on the road. The Americans picked up a 6-3 win on December 31st, the 23rd New Year's Eve meeting all-time between the two. Brenden Kichton, Blake Gal and Mitch Holmberg had Spokane's goals. The Chiefs led 3-2 going into the third period. Tri-City beat the Chiefs 2-1 on December 15th in Spokane's Teddy Bear Toss. Reid Gow had Spokane's only goal. The Chiefs and Americans split a home-and-home series on November 23rd and 24th with Tri-City winning 5-4 in overtime in the first game. The Americans tied the game with 17-seconds remaining and scored 43-seconds into overtime. The following night, Spokane scored three goals in the third to earn a 5-2 victory. Gal, Todd Fiddler, Mitch Holmberg and Liam Stewart, with two, scored for the Chiefs. Prior to the home-and-home series Spokane earned a 3-2 win on Saturday, October 27th in Tri-City. Jackson Playfair, Mike Aviani and Todd Fiddler all scored for Spokane and Eric Williams made 35 saves, including 16 in the third. Spokane won both halves of the season opening series with a 5-2 win in Kennewick on September 22nd and a 5-3 victory at home on September 29th. In the first game, Spokane got five goals from five players, including a goal and assist from Holmberg, Stewart and Carter Proft. The following week Holmberg had a hat-trick and Dylan Walchuk three assists in Spokane's home opener. Holmberg has five goals and eight points in four games while Aviani has three goals and seven points. Overall, the Chiefs are 3-23 on the power play and 19-20 on the penalty kill. Spokane and Tri-City are coming off their second straight season of facing each other in the playoffs and their sixth ever meeting in the post-season. In 2011, the Chiefs earned a six game series win while the Americans won last year's series in seven games. In its 25th year of existence the Chiefs lead the regular season series 147-128-2-5 with 13 ties.

NEWS AND NOTES

BERTAGGIA'S DEBUT...Alessio Bertaggia is expected to make his debut in a Spokane uniform on the road in Kelowna on January 16th. The Chiefs acquired the 19-year-old forward from the Brandon Wheat Kings in exchange for 19-year-old forward Marek Kalus, prospect Rhett Gardner, a third round pick in 2013 and a fifth round pick in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft. Bertaggia was the leading scorer with the Brandon Wheat Kings this season with 16 goals, 18 assists and 34 points in 30 games. He has played for Switzerland in the last two World Junior Hockey Championships totaling 12 games and six points. In 94 career games in Brandon, Bertaggia has 40 goals and 84 points. He was Brandon's first round selection, 33rd overall, in the 2011 CHL Import Draft. Bertaggia will join the Chiefs on January 16th in Kelowna.

VALCOURT TRADED TO SASKATOON...The Chiefs traded 19-year-old forward Collin Valcourt to the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for a first round selection in 2015 and a fifth round selection in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. Valcourt played 163 games in Spokane, scoring 37 goals and 78 points. In 39 games this season he has scored 13 goals and 23 points.

SPOKANE ACQUIRES COYLE...On January 9th; the Chiefs acquired 17-year-old defenseman Stewart Coyle from the Vancouver Giants in exchange for a sixth round selection in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. Coyle, a 6'2", 185 pound native of Sicamous, B.C., has appeared in 28 career WHL games after making his debut with the Chiefs on January 11th at Portland. He played 17 this season with the Giants. In 20011-12, Coyle appeared in 10 games with the Kelowna Rockets.

CHIEFS REASSIGN TWO...On January 10th, the Chiefs reassigned defenseman Adam Power to the Spokane Braves of the KIJHL and forward Tyson Predinchuk to the Melville Millionaires of the SJHL.

HOLM-SCHOOL...Mitch Holmberg recorded a career high five points, three goals and two assists, in a 7-6 shootout win over Seattle on December 14th. Holmberg has 12 goals and 18 points in his last 15 games, including a two goal and three point game on January 12th versus Kootenay. Holmberg played two games in the Subway SuperSeries. Holmberg has eight three point nights this year.

Text Box: SPOKANE CHIEFS ALL-TIME LEADERS ASSISTS 1 - Ray Whitney (1988-1991) 207 2 - Pat Falloon (1988-1991) 194 3 -Mitch Wahl (2005-2010) 186 4 - BRENDEN KICHTON (2008- ) 177 5 - Travis Green (1986-1990) 165 6 - Ryan Duthie (1991-1994) 164 Greg Leeb (1994-1998) 164 8 - Valeri Bure (1991-1994) 163 9 - Chad Klassen (2001-2006) 156 10 - Trent Whitfield (1993-1998) 155 BOLD - active IN YOUR KICHTON...Brenden Kichton has an eight game point scoring streak with five goals and 13 points. Kichton appeared in his 300th career game on Friday, January 4th at Everett becoming just the eighth player in Spokane history to hit that mark. Kichton is also the franchise's all-time leader as a defenseman with 59 career goals, 177 career assists and 236 points. His 177 assists are fourth all-time in Spokane history. Kichton has five goals and 13 assists in his last 13 games and is +16 in his last 19 games. He leads all WHL defensemen in scoring with 14 goals and 53 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.

GAL GAB...Blake Gal has three goals and six points in his last eight games. Gal has played 296 career games as a Chief, ninth in franchise history. Originally a second round selection in the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft, Gal joined the Chiefs at the end of the 2008 WHL season but did not appear in any regular season or playoff games in Spokane's run to the Memorial Cup. The Lethbridge, Alberta native has scored 64 career goals and 144 career points in five seasons. He has seven goals, 14 points and is +11 in 19 games after returning to the line-up from injury. He had missed 14 Text Box: SPOKANE CHIEFS ALL-TIME LEADERS GAMES PLAYED 1 - Brandin Cote (1996-2002) 352 2 - Tim Krymusa (1998-2003) 332 3 - Levko Koper (2006-2011) 330 4 - Derek Schutz (1994-2000) 322 5 - Mason Wallin (1998-2003) 319 6 - Jeff Lynch (2001-2006) 313 7 - BRENDEN KICHTON (2008- ) 305 8 - Jevon Desautels (2000-2005) 301 9 - BLAKE GAL (2008- ) 296 10 - Steven Kuhn (2008-2012) 288 BOLD - active games with a lower body injury.

CHIEFS ADD SMITH... The Chiefs added Adam Smith, an 18-year-old from Nanamaio, B.C., to their roster on January 7th. Smith, a 6'2", 190 pound forward, has played four games with the Chiefs and 26 games total in the WHL, two with the Portland Winterhawks in 2010-11 and 20 with the Swift Current Broncos in 2011-12. He has accumulated 58 penalty minutes in his WHL career. Smith was originally a ninth round selection in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft by Portland and has split time this season between the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL and Nanaimo Buccaneers of the VIJHL.

NACHBAUR'S 1,000TH...Spokane Chief Head Coach Don Nachbaur returned to the bench on January 8th after serving as an assistant for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships. He had 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 to coach in 1,000 games. To this point of his career Nachbaur is 542-383 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.

ROOFTOPS...Todd Fiddler has 16 goals, 28 points and is +12 in his last 22 games. He recorded his first career hat-trick in a 3-2 win at the Seattle Thunderbirds on November 17th. Fiddler is tied for third in the WHL with 28 goals, including a league leading three shorthanded, and now has 27 goals and 41 points in his last 32 games. Between Spokane and Prince Albert last year Fiddler played 73 games.

AVIANI FLEW...Mike Aviani has four goals and six points in his last six 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 also had two goals and two assists in a 7-2 win at Swift Current on November 30th. He has 11 goals, including the game tying goal with 55-seconds left in a 7-6 shootout win over Seattle on December 14th, 22 points and is +13 in his last 19 games. Aviani now has 16 goals, 39 points and is +24 in his last 32 games.

GOW SCHOLASTIC PLAYER OF THE YEAR...Reid Gow has two goals and 11 points in his last 10 games. He is +11 in his last 15 games. Gow has six goals, 20 points and is a +12 in his last 19. 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 has two goals and four points in his last five games. His 26 assists in 42 games are 12 better than he had in 34 games last season as a rookie. Walchuk had 10-14-24 last season. He has 12-26-38 in 42 games this year. In 2010-11 he helped the Vernon Vipers finish as a runner-up in the Royal Bank Cup Championship, the Canadian Junior A National Title, one year after winning it.

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

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...

Western Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central