WHL Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs News: News and Notes

Published on December 14, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


The Chiefs and Seattle Thunderbirds will play a home-and-home series on back to back nights beginning tonight in Seattle. It will be the second and third of nine meetings between the two. They will also play their first two games after the holiday break against each other on the 28th and 29th. Seattle earned a 2-1 shootout win in their first meeting of the season on November 19th in Kent, WA. Tyler Johnson scored a power play goal for the Chiefs 3:45 into the third period. Spokane outshot the Thunderbirds 49-26. The Chiefs were 7-0-1-0 in eight games last year versus the Thunderbirds. Spokane was 3-0-1-0 at home and 4-0 on the road. Levko Koper recorded two goals and six points in seven games and Tyler Johnson had two goals and five points in six games. James Reid was 6-0-1 with a 1.55 goals against average and .942 save percentage.

THIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17TH

at EVERETT SILVERTIPS

RADIO- AM 1510 KGA

AIR-7:00

GAME-7:30

The Chiefs and Silvertips will meet for their second of eight meetings on the year, four in each other's building. Their only other meeting this the Chiefs earned a 3-1 win. Kenton Miller, Blake Gal and Tyler Johnson had goals as Spokane went 2-7 on the power play and outshot the Silvertips 45-19. The Chiefs will host Everett for the first time on Saturday, January 18th. They will play. Spokane was 4-4-1-1 against the Silvertips last season with a 3-2-0-1 record at home. The Chiefs were 13-35 (37.1%) on the power play. Tyler Johnson led the Chiefs with 5-6-11. The team that scored the first goal was 8-2 in the 10 game series last year.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18TH

vs. VANCOUVER GIANTS

RADIO- AM 1510 KGA

AIR-6:30

GAME-7:00

The Chiefs will host Vancouver for their second meeting in as many weeks. It will be their final match-up of the season. Spokane earned a 3-2 shootout win on December 10th in Vancouver in their only other meeting this season. Tyler Johnson had a goal and assist as Spokane outshot the Giants 45-22. The Chiefs were 2-5 on the power play and 2-2 on the penalty kill. The Chiefs were 2-1 last year, 1-1 in the Spokane Arena and 1-0 in Vancouver. Levko Koper scored in a 2-1 win on November 7th, 2009 and James Reid made 24 saves. The Giants shutout Spokane on January 8th, 2010 in the Arena despite being outshot 28-17. The Chiefs and Giants played each other in back-to-back postseasons, 2008 and 2009, with each team winning one of the series. The Chiefs defeated the Giants in six games in 2008 on their way to the Memorial Cup Championship and Vancouver beat Spokane in 2009 in seven games in the second round. Game five of that series was a four overtime contest and the second longest game in WHL history.

NEWS AND NOTES

ON THE OFFENSIVE...After scoring 22 goals in three games last week, including 19 in two home games, the Chiefs are the top scoring team in the WHL averaging 4.10 per game. Spokane is the only team in the league averaging over four goals per game. They have scored five or more goals eight times this year and have hit double digits three times, including Saturday's 10-5 win over Kamloops.

D-FENCE...In their 30 games Spokane has allowed just 2.93 goals per game, the lowest average in the Western Conference and fourth best in the WHL. After allowing six, six and five goals in their first three games of the season, Spokane has given up four or more goals in a game just five times in the next 27 outings.

BRING YOUR GREEN HAT...Spokane is currently riding a nine game point streak with seven wins, one loss in overtime and one in a shootout. Spokane has lost just once in regulation in their last 15 games.

GOOD TO BE UHER...Dominik Uher recorded his first career hat trick in a 10-5 win over the Kamloops Blazers on December 11th. Uher has three goals and 10 points in his last seven games.

CAPTAIN COWEN...Chiefs' Captain Jared Cowen will miss tonight's game as he is in Toronto with Team Canada at their selection camp for the World Junior Team. Cowen won a silver medal with the Canadian National Junior team in 2010. He became just the third defenseman in franchise history to record three goals in a game when he had a hat-trick against Kamloops in a 10-1 win on November 24th. Mitch Cornett did it in 1986, also versus Kamloops, and Bryan McCabe did it twice in the same season, 1993-94, against Victoria and Tri-City. He assisted on a pair of goals for Team WHL in their 7-6 shootout loss to Team Russia in game five of the Subway Super Series on November 17th. He was named captain of the WHL squad. It was the third year in a row that Cowen represented Team WHL. Cowen has five goals and five assists in his last 10 games. Ottawa made Cowen their first round pick, 10th overall, in 2009. Cowen is a former first overall selection in the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft.

JOHNNY B GOOD...Tyler Johnson has moved up to third in the WHL in scoring with 46 points. His 22 goals are tied for third in the league. Johnson has 16 goals and 26 points in his last 14 games. The 20-year-old has 10 goals and 20 points in his last eight. Johnson had a five game goal scoring streak snapped on November 21st at Portland. Johnson had a seven game point scoring streak snapped on November 3rd at Saskatoon. In the span, Johnson had four goals and 15 points, including season high two goals and four points on October 30th at Regina. Johnson has points in 22 of 29 games and multiple points in 13 of them. His 97 career goals are 15th in franchise history. The 20-year-old scored 36 goals last year, second on the team, and 71 points, third on the club. Johnson won a gold medal last year with the United States at the World Junior Hockey Championships and has attended the Minnesota Wild's camp the past two years.

OUTDOOR GAME...The Chiefs will host the Rockstar Outdoor Hockey Classic on Saturday, January 15th, 2011 at Avista Stadium against the Kootenay Ice in the WHL's first ever outdoor game. Tickets are available by calling the Chiefs office at (509) 535-PUCK or TicketsWest at (800) 325-SEAT.

THIS IS VANSCOURT...Tyler Vanscourt registered a career high four points, one goal and three assists, in a 9-3 win over the Portland Winterhawks on December 8th. The 18-year-old has one goal and seven points in his last four games.

OVERTIME ON OVERTIME...The Chiefs have gone into overtime four times in their last seven games, winning twice and losing once in the extra period and a shootout. Spokane has gone into overtime eight times this season, six in their last 15 games. The franchise record for most overtime games in a season is 17 set in 1994-95.

POWERFUL STUFF...The Chiefs have scored a power play goal in 13 straight games going 23-73 (31.5%) over that span. Spokane has allowed just eight power play goals in 54 chances (85.2%) over that same span.

CHIEFS SET RECORD... Blake Gal and Anthony Bardaro equaled the Chiefs franchise record for fastest two goals when they scored seven seconds apart in a 3-1 win at Portland on November 21st. The mark had not been matched since November 4th, 1987 when Travis Green and Darcy Loewen did it at Portland in an 8-4 win. Gal scored at 4:41 of the first and Bardaro tallied at 4:48. In their next game the Chiefs scored goals eight seconds apart when Jared Cowen scored at :59 of the first and Bardaro scored at 1:07 in a 10-1 win over Kamloops.

MARANTZ MENTIONS...Matt Marantz has four goals and nine points in his last eight games. The second year forward has six goals and 15 points this season in 28 games. In 40 games last year he had two goals and five points.

IN YOUR KICHTON...Brenden Kichton has two goals and six assists in his last four games. Kichton also has three goals and 12 assists in his last 11 games. Kichton has scored two goals in a game twice this season; November 2nd in a 3-2 win at Saskatoon and December 8th in a 9-3 win versus Portland. He has six goals and 22 assists, 11 on the power play, in 23 games. Kichton attended the Detroit Red Wings at their Prospect's Camp. The three-year veteran has played 150 career games. In 70 games last year he had 4-15-19 and was +14.

BARDARO IN BUNCHES...Anthony Bardaro has three goals and six points in his last five games. The 18-year-old has points in 12 of his last 17 games with nine goals and 14 points. He had a six game point scoring streak come to an end on November 5th at Brandon.

DOUBLE DIGITS...The Chiefs have scored in double digits three times this year; an 11-1 win over the Regina Pats on October 30th, a 10-1 win over Kamloops on November 24th and a 10-5 over the Blazers on December 11th. It is the first time since the 1993-94 season that Spokane has recorded double digits three times in a season.

SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS...The Chiefs recorded a season high 64 shots on December 11th, a 10-5 win over Kamloops. It was the third time that the Chiefs registered more than 50 shots in a game, including a previous season high 52 on October 20th in an 8-1 win over Calgary. Spokane also put 50 on the board in a 3-1 win at Swift Current on November 6th. Spokane has outshot the opposition in 25 games. On average, Spokane has outshot the opponent 38.2-26.5.

HOLDING VALCOURT...Since making his Chiefs debut on October 23rd against Red Deer, Collin Valcourt has registered a point in 10 of 18 games by scoring three goals and helping on eight others. Valcourt, a Red Deer, Alberta native, was listed by the Chiefs in December, 2009. He also has 33 penalty minutes this season.

KOPER'S CORNER...Levko Koper has 12 goals and 28 points in his last 21 games. He recorded a career high six points, two goals and four assists, in an 11-1 win over Regina on October 30th. Koper has scored 79 career goals, 24th in franchise history. He has played 288 career games, seventh in franchise history. The Edmonton product was a seventh round selection of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009. He also was named Team WHL's Player of the Game last year in the Subway Super Series after scoring a goal in a 2-1 win over Team Russia on November 25th, 2009.

KOSMO...Darren Kramer's 127 penalty minutes lead the WHL. Kramer scored a goal and had five penalty minutes in his first career game in a Chiefs sweater on October 6th in a 4-3 shootout win over Kamloops. Kramer has played the past two seasons with the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

REID REPORTS...James Reid has wins in his last seven decisions. He is currently fourth in the WHL with a 2.65 GAA. In 2009-10, Reid led the WHL with 38 wins, was fourth in goals against average at 2.41 and third with a .920 save percentage. Reid was named the WHL Player of the Month for November, 2009. He has 10 career shutouts, second all-time in franchise history. His 67 career wins are tied for third in franchise history.

KUHN IT UP...Steve Kuhn has four goals and eight points in his last eight games. Kuhn has played in 175 consecutive games in his three year career. The 19-year-old has scored nine goals each of the past two years and added 20 assists last season.

NHL DRAFT...Jared Cowen (1st Round, Ottawa, 2009), Levko Koper (7th round, Atlanta, 2009)

INJURY REPORT...Anthony Bardaro (back, day-to-day)

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from December 14, 2010


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