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WHL Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs Battle Back, Lose 6-5 In Rematch Against Seattle

December 28, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


Spokane, Wash. - The Spokane Chiefs battled back, but ultimately fell 6-5 to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday night at Spokane Arena.

Seattle came out hot, scoring the first goal of the game just 26 seconds into play as Lucas Ciona notched his 14th of the year with help from Nico Myatovic and Luke Prokop.

They followed that up with two more goals, first at 8:40 by Jared Davidson then at 13:56 by Myatovic, before the Chiefs got on the board at 17:08 thanks to a beautiful highlight-reel goal by rookie Berkly Catton.

Catton's eighth goal of the season was deemed the Western Hockey League's Highlight of the Night and brought the score to 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

Spokane kept their momentum going into the second frame, as Tommaso De Luca made his way out of the penalty box and onto the scoresheet with his 10th goal of the season to put the Chiefs within one at 1:08.

Michael Cicek followed that up with his third goal in three-straight games thanks to a perfect feed from rookie Cam Parr at 3:57 to tie things up at three apiece.

Spokane managed to hold off the Thunderbirds for the rest of the middle period and almost halfway through the final frame before Seattle took back the lead at 8:24 in the third thanks to a goal by Jeremy Hanzel.

The T-birds went on to score two goals within less than two minutes later in the period - both power play goals - at 11:58 (Kyle Crnkovic) and at 13:21 (Myatovic).

The Chiefs didn't go down without a fight though, as De Luca scored his second of the game at 17:03 with help from defenseman Mac Gross and Kooper Gizowski. Blake Swetlikoff then chipped in his fourth of the season right after a face-off with just 15 seconds left to play to bring Spokane within one. Gross and Cicek earned assists on the play.

That's as close as they'd get though, as Seattle came away with a 6-5 victory.

Cooper Michaluk was a force in net for the Chiefs, keeping them in the game through multiple impressive saves and turning away a total of 31 shots, including 15 in the second period alone.

Spokane went 2-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-4 on the penalty kill. They were outshot 32-37.

Up next, the Chiefs will host the rival Tri-City Americans on Friday, December 30 before ringing in the New Year in Kennewick the following day.

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The Chiefs' next home game is Friday, December 30 versus the Tri-City Americans. It's a Centennial Family Feast Night - Enjoy discounted concession items at select concourse locations all game long, including $2 hot dogs, Coca-Cola products and more! Tickets for December 30 and all regular season games are available online at spokanechiefs.com/tickets.

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from December 28, 2022


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