WHL Spokane Chiefs

Chiefs Weekly Report

October 28, 2008 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


Two games this weekend highlight the Chiefs schedule; Friday night, Spokane will travel to Everett before returning home on Saturday to host the Kootenay Ice.

The Chiefs sit in first place in the U.S. Division with a one point lead over the Tri-City Americans. As of Tuesday morning, the Americans hold a game in hand, but will play four games in five nights this week, while the Chiefs will play twice.

THIS WEEK

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31ST at EVERETT SILVERTIPS AIR-7:00 GAME-7:30

The Chiefs and Silvertips will face off for their third of eight match-ups of the year and the first in Everett. Spokane will host the Silvertips four times and travel to Comcast Arena another four times. The Chiefs went 2-9 on the power play and 6-6 on the penalty kill and five different players scored goals in the Chiefs 5-1 win on October 11th, their last meeting of the year. The Chiefs outshot the 'Tips 47-20. Five different players scored goals and Dustin Tokarski stopped 30 shots in a 5-0 win on October 3rd. Tyler Johnson, Mitch Wahl, Drayson Bowman, Jared Cowen and Blake Gall all had goals. The Chiefs defeated Everett in four games during last year's first round playoff series. Drayson Bowman had three goals and five points while Mitch Wahl had two goals and five points in the series. Spokane went 3-4-0-1 in eight games during the regular season last year with a 2-2 record at home and 1-2-0-1 record on the road.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST vs. KOOTENAY ICE AIR-6:30 GAME-7:00

The Chiefs will host the Kootenay Ice for the first time this season in their second match-up of the season. The Chiefs and Ice kicked off the WHL season on September 18th at the Cranbrook Rec-Plex in a 4-2 Kootenay victory. Blake Gal, who scored his first career goal, and Mitch Wahl both scored for the Chiefs. Dustin Tokarski made 36 saves. The Chiefs and Ice will play each other five times total, three in Spokane, throughout the year. Spokane will return to Kootenay on Saturday, February 7th. Spokane was 3-1-0-1 in five games last season with a pair of wins and a shootout loss coming in Cranbrook. Tokarski was in net for all three wins for the Chiefs.

LAST WEEK

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24TH SPOKANE-2 vs. SEATTLE-3

The Seattle Thunderbirds scored three third period goals to come from a 2-0 deficit and give the Chiefs their first loss at home. Tyler Johnson and Ryan Letts both scored goals for the Chiefs.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH SPOKANE-4 vs. PRINCE GEORGE-1

Tyler Johnson scored on a breakaway with 7:42 remaining to break a 1-1 tie and help give the Chiefs a 4-1 win over the Prince George Cougars in their first meeting of the year. Levko Koper scored twice, including on the power play, and Dustin Tokarski stopped 32 shots for his eighth victory of the year. Spokane was 1-3 on the power play and 5-6 on the penalty kill.

ROMAN REMOVED FROM ROSTER

The Spokane Chiefs have removed 19-year-old forward Ondøej Roman from their roster. The native of the Czech Republic is awaiting his release to return and play for the Chiefs.

"We have an import spot available for Ondøej if he returns to Spokane," Chiefs General Manager Tim Speltz said. "There is no immediate timeline for his return so we're going to remove him from the roster."

Rosters must be finalized for all leagues, including the WHL, by January 10th, 2009. If Roman were to play for a Czech team after January 10th of next year, he would be unable to play for the Chiefs.

Roman has played 16 games for Vitkovice HC in the Czech Republic and has scored two goals and five points. He is the youngest player on the team.

Roman has played 142 games in two seasons in Spokane and led the Chiefs in scoring during last year's playoffs with nine goals and 21 points in 21 games. Roman has scored 19 goals and 190 career points in Spokane.

NEWS AND NOTES

FOR STARTERS...The Chief's 21 points are good for first place in the U.S. Division, one more than the Tri-City Americans. Spokane had an 11 game point streak after their first game of the season, a 4-2 loss on September 18th in Kootenay. After that the Chiefs won eight games and lost three times in a shootout. Through 14 games last year, Spokane was 10-2-1-1 with 22 points.

KOPER'S COUNT...Levko Koper's career best 11 game point streak was snapped on October 18th at Tri-City but is the third longest in the WHL this season. The 18-year-old had points in the first 11 games of the year and now has a total of seven goals and 16 points. Six of his points have come on the power play, a team high. Koper is also +1. Koper is in his third season in Spokane with 133 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.

FIRST THINGS FIRST...Spokane has scored the first goal of the game in 10 of 14 contests this year and have a 7-2-0-1 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 11 games this year. The 18-year-old is also +13 on the season. Wahl has points in eight of the 11 games he has played this year. This is his third season in a Spokane jersey and he has played 145 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 13 goals on the man advantage for a total of $325. In their last eight games, the Chiefs are 12-39 (30.8%) on the power play and they own the fifth best percentage (21.0) in the WHL.

STINGY...Spokane is first in the WHL in goals against by allowing only 25 goals in 14 games. That total includes goals the opposition is given for a shootout win, meaning Spokane has allowed just 22 goals in regulation and overtime. Combined, Dustin Tokarski and James Reid have a 1.47 goals against average and .953 save percentage.

HOME, SWEET HOME...Spokane is 6-1 at home and have scored 30 goals and allowed nine. 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. Spokane has outscored the opposition 22-16 on the road.

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

LOOKING GLASS...Defenseman Trevor Glass was +3 with an assist on October 25th against the Prince George Cougars. Glass appeared in his 200th career WHL game on Saturday, October 18th in Tri-City and has now played 202 games. Glass has one goal and six assists in 11 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 four goals and six points in his last seven games. Letts scored a career high two goals on Friday, October 10th in a 6-2 win at Portland. Letts has played 157 career WHL games.

BOWMAN'S BAG...Spokane forward Drayson Bowman has eight goals and five assists in his last 11 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.

DUSTIN TIME...Chiefs goaltender Dustin Tokarski is second in the WHL with a 1.48 goals against average, a .953 save percentage, second with eight wins and first with 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 third in the WHL a +15. 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 +11 in his last 10. Through 14 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 leads the Chiefs with three game winning goals, including a breakaway with seven minutes remaining to snap a 1-1 tie on October 25th versus the Prince George Cougars. Johnson had one goal and two assists in a 6-2 win at Portland on October 10th and has five goals and 13 points in 11 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.

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 238 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 157 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), 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, 3-4 weeks), Jared Spurgeon (ankle, indefinite)

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from October 28, 2008


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