WHL Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs Down Cougars 5-4 in Overtime

March 4, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


Prince George, B.C. - The Spokane Chiefs find themselves back in the win column after forcing overtime and earning the extra point against the Prince George Cougars Saturday night, 5-4.

After a scoreless opening half of the first period, Prince George was first on the board with a goal from Carlin Dezainde at 11:40.

The Chiefs answered with a power play goal by Berkly Catton at 19:01 to tie things up at one goal apiece heading into the break. Grady Lane and Kooper Gizowski earned assists on the play.

The Cougars once again opened the scoring in the second period with a goal from Ondrej Becher just two and a half minutes into play.

Spokane responded a little over five minutes later as Grady Lane picked up a rebound in front of the net and chipped it in for his sixth goal of the season, tying the game at 2-2. Catton and Mac Gross notched assists on the play.

And the Chiefs didn't stop there, adding on at 10:18 when Carter Streek connected with rookie defenseman Will McIsaac at the right circle from behind the net. McIsaac fired a rocket over the right shoulder of Ty Young to give Spokane their first lead of the night.

The Cougars tacked on two more goals to kick off the final frame, from Ethan Samson at 2:46 and from Chase Wheatcroft at 5:11 to give Prince George a 4-3 advantage.

But the Chiefs weren't backing down. Less than three minutes later, Chase Bertholet swiped the puck away from a Cougar and carried it up the ice before sliding it over to a net-crashing Catton, who sideswept it to the left of the goal before flicking it into the net to tie the game at 4-4.

The goal marks Catton's 19th of the season - tied with Steve Junker for 4th all-time among Chiefs' 16-year-olds.

With the help of a few spectacular saves by Dawson Cowan, Spokane kept the Cougars at bay for the rest of the frame and forced overtime.

The Chiefs wasted no time in finishing the job as Catton dropped a feed to Bertholet, who rocketed the puck top shelf to win the game 5-4 just 28 seconds into the extra period.

Despite letting four get by him, Cowan put up a solid performance in net for Spokane, stopping 32 Prince George shots and earned his seventh win in red, white and blue.

Overage defenseman Gross finished +4 after chipping in three assists, while Catton posted his first WHL career four-point night with two goals and two assists (+1). Seven Chiefs finished +1 or higher.

Spokane outshot Prince George 40-36 and went 1-for-4 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Up next, the Chiefs return home to take on the Portland Winterhawks Friday night at Spokane Arena.

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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



Western Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2023


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