WHL Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs Weekly Report

Published on October 22, 2008 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


CHIEFS HEAD INTO WEEKEND IN FIRST PLACE

With points in 11 straight games, the Spokane Chiefs will host two games this weekend including Friday night's U.S. Division contest against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Saturday night, the Prince George Cougars visit for the first time this season.

The Chief's 19 points are tops in the U.S. Division, one better than the Tri-City Americans. Spokane has not lost in regulation since a 4-2 loss on September 18th in Kootenay, the Chiefs opening game of the season. Since then, the Chiefs have won eight games and lost three times in a shootout. Through 12 games last year, Spokane was 8-2-1-1 with 18 points. The 19 points through 12 games is the second best start in franchise history behind their 20 points (10-2-0) in 1995-96.

CHIEFS RANKED FOURTH

The Spokane Chiefs are fourth in the Canadian Hockey League in their weekly top 10 rankings. Spokane is the highest ranked of three WHL teams with Calgary and Vancouver ranked sixth and seventh, respectively. The Windsor Spitfires (OHL) are the top ranked team.

THIS WEEK

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24TH vs. SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS AIR-6:30 GAME-7:00

The Chiefs and Seattle will play nine times, four times in the Spokane Arena and five times in KeyArena. Seattle earned a 3-2 shootout win on October 4th in their first meeting of the year in Seattle. Drayson Bowman had both goals for Spokane. The Thunderbirds will visit again on back-to-back nights on December 12th and 13th. The Chiefs won't visit Seattle again until December 28th. The Chiefs finished the season 7-2 last year against the Thunderbirds with Bowman scoring three goals and 10 points in eight games and Mitch Wahl finishing the season series with two goals and nine points in nine games. Dustin Tokarski was 6-2 with a 1.44 GAA and .943 save percentage. The two played a 9-7 game, won by Seattle, on February 11th of last year. The 16 combined goals was the most by two teams since the Chiefs dropped a 10-8 decision to Portland on October 11th, 1995

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH vs. PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS AIR-6:30 GAME-7:00

Prince George will visit for their first of two meetings on the year. The Chiefs went 4-0 against the Cougars last year with Drayson Bowman scoring seven goals and 12 points in four games. Jared Spurgeon and Mitch Wahl each had a goal and five points in the series. Spokane will host the Cougars for the second and final time on Sunday, February 15th. The Chiefs will travel to P.G. for games on back-to-back nights on March 6th and 7th. Cougar goaltender Kevin Armstrong won 51 games in a two-and-a-half year span in Spokane and posted a 2.17 GAA and .915 save percentage in 33 games last season.

LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15TH SPOKANE-5 vs. PORTLAND-2

James Reid stopped 30 shots and the Chiefs got goals from five different players on their way to a 5-1 win over the Portland Winter Hawks on Wednesday night. Drayson Bowman and Levko Koper each had a goal and assist and Spokane went 3-5 on the power play and 4-6 on the penalty kill. The Chiefs outshot Portland 40-32.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17TH SPOKANE-5 vs. KAMLOOPS-2

Drayson Bowman had two goals and an assist and the Chiefs scored five for the fourth time in a row at home as Spokane handed the Kamloops Blazers a 5-2 defeat in the Arena on Friday night. The Chiefs outshot Kamloops 44-25, went 1-3 on the power play and 7-8 on the penalty kill.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18TH SPOKANE-3 at TRI-CITY-2 SO

The Tri-City Americans defeated the Chiefs 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night in Kennewick, the second of 12 meetings on the year between the two. Dustin Donaghy and Mitch Wahl scored for Spokane and Dustin Tokarski stopped 46 shots. The Americans scored the only goal in the three round shootout.

NEWS AND NOTES

KOPER'S COUNT...Levko Koper's career best 11 game point streak was snapped on October 18th at Tri-City but is the longest in the WHL this season. The 18-year-old had points in the first 11 games of the year and has a total of five goals and 13 points. Four of his assists have come on the power play. Koper is also +9. Koper is in his third season in Spokane with 131 games played. In a career high 69 games last year, Koper scored 12 goals and 26 points and added another four goals and nine points in 21 playoff games. Koper scored two goals in the Memorial Cup, including the overtime game winner in Spokane's first game of the tournament against the Belleville Bulls.

HOT SHOTS...In their last 11 games, the Chiefs are averaging 39.4 shots per game and have had more than 40 shots in four straight games. The Chiefs averaged just 22.6 shots in their first three games of the season. Spokane is 6-1 when they outshoot the opponent.

FIRST THINGS FIRST...Spokane has scored the first goal of the game in eight of 12 contests this year and have a 6-1-0-1 record when doing so. Spokane is 2-0-0-2 when the opponent scores first.

WAHL NUTS...Chiefs center Mitch Wahl has seven goals and 14 points in nine games this year. The 18-year-old is also +13 on the season, second in the WHL. Wahl has points in eight of the nine games he has played this year. This is his third season in a Spokane jersey and he has played 143 career games in two-plus seasons. After scoring two goals and six points in four Memorial Cup games, Wahl was named to the tournament All-Star Team. Wahl was also selected by the Calgary Flames in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Last year Wahl led the club with 53 assists, seventh in the WHL, and finished second on the team in scoring with 73 points. Wahl also finished tied for fifth in the WHL with a +33.

PROJECT POWER PLAY...This season, Avista will donate $25 to Project Share for each power play goal the Chiefs score. Through 12 games, the Chiefs have scored 12 goals on the man advantage for a total of $300. In their last seven games, the Chiefs are 11-36 (30.5%) on the power play and they own the fifth best percentage (21.4) in the WHL.

STINGY...Spokane is first in the WHL in goals against by allowing only 21 goals in 12 games. That total includes goals the opposition is given for a shootout win, meaning Spokane has allowed just 18 goals in regulation and overtime. Combined, Dustin Tokarski and James Reid have a 1.39 goals against average and .955 save percentage. Of the 18 goals allowed, Spokane has given up just seven of them five-on-five, allowed one empty netter with 10 power play goals allowed.

HOME, SWEET HOME...Spokane is 5-0 at home and have scored 24 goals and allowed five. The Chiefs had back-to-back shutouts to begin the home season, 4-0 against Tri-City on September 27th and 5-0 versus Everett on October 3rd. After starting the season with six out of eight games on the road, Spokane will play six out of seven at home. Spokane has outscored the opposition 22-16 on the road.

FIRSTS...On October 11th in a 5-1 versus Everett both Mike Betz and David Conrad scored their first career WHL goals. A night earlier, in a 6-2 win at Portland, Steve Kuhn accomplished the feat.

WELL ROUNDED...Sixteen players have scored the Chiefs 46 goals this season and 19 players have registered a point.

200 CLUB...Defenseman Trevor Glass appeared in his 200th career WHL game on Saturday, October 189th in Tri-City. Glass has one goal and five assists in nine games. The 20-year-old is in his fifth season in the WHL and has played 59 career playoff games and another eight in the Memorial Cup. Glass scored Spokane's third goal, his only of the Memorial Cup, in a 4-1 win over the Kitchener Rangers in the final game to help the Chiefs win the championship. In 2007-08, Glass had three goals and 12 points as a Chief in 27 games after being acquired in a January, 2008 trade. The defenseman was also +15 in Spokane. Glass's resume also includes a pair of WHL titles, one with Medicine Hat in 2007 where he led the team with a +13 in the playoffs. The Cochrane, Alberta native was a former first round selection in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft (10th overall).

LETTS TALK...Ryan Letts has three goals and four points in his last five games. Letts scored a career high two goals on Friday, October 10th in a 6-2 win at Portland. Letts has played 156 career WHL games.

BOWMAN'S BAG...Spokane forward Drayson Bowman has eight goals and five assists in his last nine games. Bowman is in his fourth season in Spokane after leading the team in goals (42) and points (80) last year. Bowman was named the Chiefs Player of the Year in 2007-08. The Littleton, Colorado native has scored 85 career goals, 20th in franchise history, and was the Hurricanes third round selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

REID BETWEEN THE LINES...Eighteen-year-old James Reid made 30 saves for Spokane in his first career win, a 5-2 victory over the Portland Winter Hawks on October 15th. In his first career start, Reid stopped 32 shots on October 1st at Chilliwack but dropped the game 2-1 after an eight round shootout.

BANTAM DRAFT...Spokane's roster features 15 players selected by the Chiefs in the WHL Bantam Draft, including four first round picks; Drayson Bowman (2004), Mitch Wahl (2005), Jared Cowen (2006) and Mike Betz (2007). Spokane has four players from both the 2006 and 2007 draft and three from the 2005 draft.

DUSTIN TIME...Chiefs goaltender Dustin Tokarski is first in the WHL with a 1.38 goals against average, .956 save percentage, seven wins and three shutouts. Tokarski now has 11 shutouts for his career, setting a new franchise record. Tokarski posted back-to-back shutouts for the third time in his career, second time in the regular season, with blankings on September 20th against Portland and September 27th against Tri-City. Tokarksi's third of the year came with 30 saves against Everett on October 3rd. Tokarski was named the Memorial Cup MVP after going 4-0 with a 1.72 GAA, a .953 save percentage and a 52 save performance in the Championship game against the Kitchener Rangers. Through games five and six of the second round versus Vancouver and one and two against Tri-City Tokarski had a stretch of 186 minutes and 15 seconds without allowing a goal. The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Tokarski in the fifth round in 2008. In 2007-08, the 19-year-old set a slew of records in net for Spokane, including most shutouts in a season (6), most consecutive wins (11-October 13th through December 2nd), best goals against average in a single season (2.05) and best save percentage (.922). Tokarski finished third in the WHL in GAA and first overall in save percentage.

TEAM COWEN-ADA...Defenseman Jared Cowen was named an Alternate Captain and helped Team Canada win a gold medal at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka under-18 World Championships. Cowen is in his second season in a Spokane jersey. His empty net goal versus the Kitchener Rangers on May 25th, 2008 clinched the Chiefs Memorial Cup Championship. In his rookie season, Jared Cowen appeared in 68 games, scored four goals and 18 points. His +28 led all rookie defenseman in 2007-08. Cowen is eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

BARTMAN...Brett Bartman is tops in the WHL a +14. The 19-year-old posted a career high +6 in a 6-2 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Tuesday, September 30th and is now +10 in his last eight. Through 12 games, Bartman has one goal and four points. His first career goal counted as the game winner on September 20th, 2008 at Portland, a 3-0 win. Bartman appeared in 48 games last season with six assists and a +16.

KEEPING UP WITH JOHNSON...Spokane's own Tyler Johnson had one goal and two assists in a 6-2 win at Portland on October 10th and has three goals and 10 points in nine games. Johnson attended the Phoenix Coyotes camp in the pre-season. Johnson was named the Western Hockey League Finals MVP after scoring three goals in four games, including game winners in games three and four against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. In 2007-08, Johnson led all Chiefs rookies with 69 games, 13 goals and 35 points.

CAMPING - AMERICAN STYLE...Drayson Bowman, Tyler Johnson and Mitch Wahl all attended the United States junior evaluation camp in August. The camp is used to identify prospects for the U.S. team that will play in the World Junior Hockey Championships in December in Ottawa.

CAMPING - THE CANADIAN WAY...Dustin Tokarski and Jared Spurgeon both attended Team Canada's National Junior Team Evaluation camp in August in Ottawa. Both are eligible for Canada's World Junior Team.

COMPTON'S CORNER...Twenty-year-old forward Seth Compton is in his fifth season in the WHL, all with the Chiefs, and has played in 236 career games (25th in franchise history), including a career high 71 games in 2007-08. Compton also scored a career high 13 goals and 20 points last year. Compton was named the Player's Player after last season.

REDDINGTON'S READY...Mike Reddington has played in 155 games in two-plus seasons, 27 playoff games and four more in the Memorial Cup. Reddington appeared in 71 of 72 games last season and led the Chiefs with 102 penalty minutes.

DRAFTED PLAYERS... Drayson Bowman (Carolina, 3rd round, 2007), Justin McCrae (Carolina, 4th round, 2007), Ondrej Roman (Dallas, 5th round, 2007), Mitch Wahl (Calgary, 2nd round, 2008), Dustin Tokarski (Tampa Bay, 5th round, 2008), Jared Spurgeon (NY Islanders, 6th round, 2008)

INJURY REPORT...Justin McCrae (knee, indefinite)

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from October 22, 2008


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