Sports stats



WHL Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs Come Up Short Against Kelowna, Fall 7-4 Wednesday Night

March 2, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


Kelowna, B.C. - The Spokane Chiefs came up short Wednesday night against the Kelowna Rockets, falling 7-4 in the first of three games on the road this week.

The Rockets were quick to get on the board, as they scored the first goal of the game at 2:46. The Chiefs answered five minutes later with Mac Gross' ninth of the season after he picked up a puck from Chase Bertholet at the circle and fired it into the net to even the score.

After a quiet first half of the second period, Andrew Cristall put up back-to-back goals at 11:28 and 19:39 to give the Rockets a 3-1 advantage heading into the second break.

Spokane seemed to tilt the ice early in the third as Chase Bertholet notched his second shorthanded goal of the season at 2:51 to bring the Chiefs within one.

But the momentum was short-lived as Kelowna went on to score three-straight goals in the span of five minutes: Carson Golder at 3:48 (power play), Golder again at 7:49 and Dylan Wightman at 8:31.

The Chiefs weren't going down without a fight, as Kooper Gizowski fired a missile from the right wing to the twine for his tenth goal of the year at 12:30. He soon followed that up with an assist on a goal by Carter Streek at 15:55 to close the gap to 6-4. Ty Cheveldayoff also earned an assist on Streek's goal.

Cristall completed his hat trick at 17:02 with an empty netter to squash Spokane's comeback hopes and secure the 7-4 Kelowna victory.

Spokane special teams struggled throughout the contest, going 0-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-4 on the penalty kill. They were outshot by Kelowna 41-36, with Dawson Cowan posting 26 saves.

Up next, the Chiefs will continue their road trip with back-to-back games against the Prince George Cougars this Friday and Saturday.

-

The Chiefs' next home game is Friday, March 10 against the Portland Winterhawks. It is the Coeur d'Alene Casino 30th Anniversary Celebration. Tickets for March 10 and all regular season games are available online at spokanechiefs.com/tickets.

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics

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

Western Hockey League Stories from March 2, 2023


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