WHL Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs weekly report

Published on December 19, 2005 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


The Spokane Chiefs will take their Holiday hiatus this week after playing 33 games to this point of the season. Spokane is locked in a five team race in the US Division where only three points separate second through fifth place. The Chiefs hold a 15-17-1-0 record and 31 points and stand in fourth place.

The Chiefs will return from the holiday break with a pair of games in Prince George on December 27th and 28th before returning home on December 30th to host the Kootenay Ice. Spokane will then travel to Tri-City for their annual New Year's Eve game with the Americans.

The Chiefs office will be closed on Tuesday, December 20th and re-open on Tuesday, December 27th at 9:00am.

UPCOMING GAMES

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27TH at PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS AIR-7:00 GAME-7:30

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28TH at PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS AIR-7:00 GAME-7:30

The Chiefs will travel to Prince George for a two game series in their only trip to the farthest point north in the BC Division. Spokane and the Cougars will play each other four times this year as P.G. will travel to Spokane on Wednesday, January 11th and Wednesday, March 15th. Spokane finished 1-2-1 last year with P.G., picking up their win in Prince George. In four games, Derek Ryan had one goal and three assists while Jeff Lynch, Michael Grabner and Chad Klassen all had three points. Jim Watt played all four games and finished with a 2.48 GAA and .910 save percentage. The Chiefs outshot Prince George in all four games and 37-27.8 on average. The Chiefs were 18-20 (90%) on the penalty kill.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30TH vs. KOOTENAY ICE AIR-6:30 GAME-7:00

For just the second time this season, first since the opening game of the year, the Chiefs will play the Kootenay Ice. Kootenay defeated Spokane 4-2 on September 24th in the Cranbrook Rec-Plex in their first meeting of the year. Drayson Bowman and Chad Klassen had scored for Spokane and made it a 3-2 game late in the third but a Kootenay empty net goal provided the final. Jim Watt stopped 28 shots. Spokane will host Kootenay on December 30th in the Ice's first trip to Spokane of the year. In the second half of the year the Chiefs and Kootenay will play six times.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31st at TRI-CITY AMERICANS AIR-6:30 GAME7:00

Spokane and Tri-City will match-up for the fifth time this year, the third in the Tri-Cities. The Chiefs are 3-1 versus the Americans, including a 2-0 record in Spokane and 1-1 in the Tri-Cities. The Chiefs jumped out to a 4-1 lead on October 15th in the Tri-Cities, but the Americans scored three goals to tie it up. Chris Bruton's power play goal with just over 2:30 left in the game won it for Spokane. The Chiefs scored four power play goals, a season high, and a shorthanded goal in the win. Spokane has outshot Tri-City in three of four games and on average, 34.5-28.5. Chris Bruton (3-3-6) and Chad Klassen (2-4-6) lead the team in scoring versus Tri-City. Bruton is +4. This year will mark the 16th straight season the Chiefs have traveled to Tri-City to take on the Americans. Spokane earned a 3-1 win last year. Myles Stoesz, Chris Bruton and Chad Klassen all scored for Spokane. The Chiefs won the first meeting in 1990-91 but lost eight of the next nine years and now hold a 5-9-1 record in the series. The winning team has rung in the New Year with fireworks by averaging 6.1 goals per game. The winning team has scored at least five goals in five of the last six years.

For the fourth time this season the Chiefs will host the Portland Winter Hawks. The meeting will be the sixth of the year between the two US Division rivals. The road team has won each of the previous five, including a 4-3 Spokane win on November 13th in Portland. The Chiefs were 3-13 on the power play as four different players scored goals. Portland is 3-0 in the Spokane Arena The Chiefs won a 5-4 shootout decision on October 28th in their first shootout in franchise history. The shootout went seven rounds.

LAST WEEK

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16TH SPOKANE-1 vs. EVERETT-4

The Everett Silvertips scored three goals in the first 5:09 of the game en route to a 4-1 win over the Spokane Chiefs on Friday night in the Spokane Arena. The game was the final home match for the Chiefs until after the holidays when Spokane returns home to host the Kootenay Ice on Friday, December 30th on The Inlander's Hawaiian Night. Everett scored at 1:32, 3:57 and 5:09 of the first period. The Chiefs Chris Bruton scored at 9:18 of the first to make it 3-1. The Silvertips outshot Spokane 30-28.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17TH SPOKANE-1 at KOOTENAY-3

The Kootenay Ice scored two power play goals and used Taylor Dakers 33 saves to defeat the Spokane Chiefs 3-1 Saturday night in Cranbrook, BC. Despite outshooting the Ice 34-25 in the contest and in every period of the game, Spokane dropped their second straight game to Kootenay this season. Ben Maxwell's power play goal midway through the first period, and Steve DaSilva's man advantage marker at the end of the second gave Kootenay a 2-0 lead. Chad Klassen's 12th goal of the year from Drayson Bowman and Adam Hobson just 35 seconds into the 3rd period brought Spokane within 2-1. The Chiefs pulled goalie Jim Watt with 1:25 remaining in the game, but Kootenay's Dale Mahovsky scored an empty net goal with 12 seconds left to seal the game for the Ice. Jim Watt had 23 saves in the loss, as the Chiefs had just 2 power play opportunities in the game.

NEWS AND NOTES

SALMONSSON JOINS TEAM SWEDEN...Spokane Chief forward Johannes Salmonsson has been selected to play for Team Sweden at the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championships for the third year in a row. Salmonsson was sixth in scoring during last year's tournament with five goals and eight points in six games and had one assist as a 17-year-old in 2004. Salmonsson has appeared in 26 games in his rookie season and scored three goals and nine points. In 2004, the Pittsburgh Penguins made Salmonsson their second round selection, 31st overall, in the NHL Entry Draft. Sweden will play Russia on December 26th in their first game of the tournament.

BISHOP LEAVES FOR TEAM CANADA POST...Spokane Chief Athletic Therapist Darcy Bishop has left for his post as the Athletic Therapist for Canada's National Junior Championship team. Bishop will be gone through the medal round that will end on January 5th. The Calgary, AB native has been the Chiefs Athletic Therapist for the past five seasons. Bishop will be replaced on the Chiefs bench by Whitworth Physical Therapy's Holly Rushing, a 2004 EWU graduate. This past summer, Bishop served as Team Canada's Equipment Manager for their silver medal winning Under-18 Junior World Cup squad that featured Spokane Chief forward Adam Hobson. Bishop had previously served as the Head Athletic Therapist for Canada's 1998 National Junior Hockey team and the 1996 gold medal winning Under-18 team.

WASN'T THAT SPECIAL...Over their last five games, the Chiefs are 23-26 (88.5%) on the penalty kill.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH...The eight goals Spokane scored in an 8-1 win over Portland on December 11th was the most they scored at home since an 8-3 win over Tri-City on March 1st, 2002. The most goals Spokane scored last season was nine in a 9-5 win at Tri-City on October 16th, 2003.

POWER PACKAGE...The Chiefs have scored four power play goals in two games this season, both wins (10/15, 5-4 at Tri-City and 12/11, 8-1 versus Portland). The last time Spokane scored four power play goals in a game was February 28th, 2002 versus Portland, a 6-5 overtime win.

MOVIN' ON UP...Chad Klassen has moved into the top-10 in franchise history with 242 career points. Klassen has scored 94 goals, 14th all-time, and has 149 assists, ninth all-time. Klassen recorded his second four point night of the season with two goals and two assists on December 11th versus Portland, the second time he has done that this season and eighth time he has accomplished that this year.

CENTRAL SCOUTING...The NHL's Central Scouting service released their preliminary rankings for each league and Michael Grabner is rated ninth and Matt McCue is rated 16th in the WHL.

300 CLUB... Jeff Lynch played in his 300th career WHL game on November 25th versus the Seattle Thunderbirds. All 306 of his career games have been with the Spokane Chiefs. Lynch is the sixth Chief to accomplish that feat in a Spokane sweater, joining Brandin Cote (352), Tim Krymusa (332), Derek Schutz (322), Mason Wallin (319) and Jevon Desautels (301). Lynch has played with four of the five (Schutz). The 20-year-old has four goals and seven assists in his last 10 games. The Coquitlam, BC native set a career high last season with 23 goals and 49 points, second on the Chiefs. Chad Klassen has played in 274 career games.

CAN YOU SPARE A DIME ...Jim Watt recorded his 10th career shutout with a 23 save effort versus the Everett Silvertips on November 19th. Both of Watt's shutouts this season have been 1-0 games against the Silvertips. Watt has had four shutouts in each of the last two seasons. The 19-year-old is has played 136 games, third in franchise history and has played over 7,500 minutes, second in franchise history. Barry Brust played 9,150 minutes in his four year career.

STEHR-ING CONTEST...Thomas Stehr won four straight starts from December 3rd through the 11th and is now 5-3 on the season. Stehr earned a win in his first career start for the Chiefs with 33 saves in a 6-3 victory versus the Brandon Wheat Kings. Stehr stopped 39 shots in a 4-2 victory over in his hometown of Medicine Hat (12/03).

GRABIN' GOALS...Seventeen-year-old Michael Grabner has scored 11 goals in his last 22 games. Grabner also scored the decisive goal for Spokane in a shootout win on November 25th versus the Seattle Thunderbirds. The 18-year-old scored 13 goals in 58 games last season. Grabner is in his second season with the Chiefs after being selected by Spokane in the first round of the 2004 CHL Import Draft. The Villach, Austria native is eligible for the 2006 NHL Draft.

A NICE HOBBY...Adam Hobson has scored 12 goals and 20 points in his last 27 games. In that span, Hobson has points in 17 of 26. Hobson, the Chiefs first round selection in the 2002 WHL Bantam Draft, was selected this summer by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth round of the NHL Entry Draft.

RYAN'S SONG... Derek Ryan has scored 10 goals and 26 points in his last 27 games, including a two goal effort on October 15th in a 5-4 win over Tri-City. Ryan had a five game point streak snapped on November 12th at Tri-City with four goals and seven points. The 19-year-old is second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 29 points. The Spokane native was named the Western Conference's Rookie of the Year last season.

ROOTIN' FOR BRUTON... On October 26th Chris Bruton scored nine-seconds into the second period, just one second off the Chiefs record for fastest goal to start a period, held by Tony Horacek in October, 1988. His second goal of the period, 22-seconds later, was just four-seconds off the Chiefs record for fastest two goals by one player, held by Travis Green in December, 1988.

DRAYSON'S DIARY...Drayson Bowman had a five game point scoring streak snapped on November 9th. Bowman had two goals and five points. Bowman leads all Chiefs rookies with eight goals and 15 points in 33 games.

ONE, TWO, ZERO...Spokane has played in three 1-0 games this season after just 10 such contests in 20 previous seasons in the WHL. Two of the games have come against Everett, both wins, on October 5th and November 19th. The Chiefs lost a 1-0 game on October 22nd versus Kamloops. Spokane has played in two 1-0 games during the post season.

DRAFTED PLAYERS...Johannes Salmonsson (Pittsburgh, 2nd round, 2004), David Schulz (Vancouver, 8th round, 2004), Jason Lynch (Colorado, 6th round, 2005), Sean Zimmerman (New Jersey, 6th round, 2005), Adam Hobson (Chicago, 7th round, 2005), Myles Stoesz (Atlanta, 7th round, 2005)

INJURY REPORT...Jeff Lynch (knee, day-to-day), Matt McCue (cheekbone, three weeks), David Schulz (ribs, indefinite)

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from December 19, 2005


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