WHL Spokane Chiefs

Spokane Chiefs weekly report

Published on December 8, 2004 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


UPCOMING

Wednesday, December 8th at EVERETT SILVERTIPS AIR-6:30 GAME-7:00

Saturday, December 10th vs. EVERETT SILVERTIPS AIR-6:30 GAME-7:00

The Chiefs will travel to play the Everett Silvertips in their second meeting of the year. Spokane and Everett will play a total of nine times this season, four times in the Spokane Arena. On November 17th, Jim Watt stopped 25 shots and three different Chiefs scored in a 3-0 win. For Watt, it was his second career shutout against Everett. J.P. Szaszkiewicz scored his first career goal in the game. The Chiefs were 4-4 on the penalty kill. Last regular season, Spokane and Everett split an eight game series with five of the games being decided by two goals or less. The Chiefs won all four games that they scored the first goal, as did Everett. Spokane outscored Everett 20-15 (2.50 to 1.88 on average). Jim Watt played five games versus the Silvertips and finished with a 3-2 record and 1.42 GAA and .948 save percentage. Chad Klassen had two four point games versus the Silvertips (10/24 and 12/28) including his first career hat-trick on November 19th in a 4-2 win.

Friday, December 10th vs. SWIFT CURRENT AIR-6:30 GAME-7:00

The Chiefs will host the Swift Current Broncos in their only meeting of the season. The game will be the fourth of the season for Spokane versus a Central Division opponent. Medicine Hat will visit the Arena on January 8th. Spokane earned a 6-1 win on October 31st, 2003 at Swift Current. Jevon Desautels recorded his first career hat-trick and added an assist in the win. Myles Stoesz scored his first career goal and Gary Gladue recorded two assists. Spokane finished the night 3-7 on the power play and 5-5 on the penalty kill. The last time the Chiefs hosted Swift Current, in 2002-03, Spokane dropped a 5-3 decision. Since the 1998-99 season, the Chiefs are 6-3-0 versus the Broncos.

LAST WEEK

Sunday, December 5th SPOKANE-5 at REGINA-0

The Spokane Chiefs finished up their five game in six night swing through the Eastern Division Sunday night in Regina with a 5-0 win. Adam Hobson's record tying two shorthanded goals led the Chiefs. Gustav Engman opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season from Adam Hobson on a slap shot from the left point at 9:05 of the first period. It was Engman's third goal in as many games. The Chiefs would then score their fourth shorthanded goal in their last two games as Hobson picked off a pass in the neutral zone and broke into score his fifth goal of the year, unassisted, at 17:00 of the first. Hobson would then add his second shorthanded goal of the night as he took a rebound off a Michael Grabner shot and backhanded it past Regina goalie David Reekie to give Spokane a 3-0 lead after two periods. Chad Klassen would score his team leading 12th goal of the season on a Jeff Lynch feed to extend Spokane's lead to 4-0. Gary Gladue also assisted on the goal. Chiefs captain Jevon Desautels would then cap the scoring with his sixth goal of the season from Myles Stoesz. Jim Watt picked up his second straight win with his seventh career shutout with 19 saves on the night. His third shutout of the year helped him tie the franchise record for career shutouts.

Saturday, December 4th SPOKANE-7 at MOOSE JAW-2

The Spokane Chiefs matched a franchise record with three shorthanded goals in a 7-2 win at Moose Jaw Saturday night. Jeff Lynch, Ned Lukacevic, and Gustav Engman scored shorthanded goals in a 9:05 span of the third period to break open a 2-1 game. Michael Grabner opened the scoring for the Chiefs just 26-seconds into the game with a rebound of a Gary Gladue shot to give Spokane a 1-0 lead. Adam Hobson would then score his third goal of the season with both teams skating on four aside giving the Chiefs a 2-0 advantage. Moose Jaw scored a power play goal from Dustin Boyd to close within 2-1 at the end of one. After the teams went scoreless in the second period, Lynch opened the scoring in the third, rebounding a Gladue shot from the slot for his sixth of the year to put Spokane up 3-1. The Chiefs then killed off a five-on-three Moose Jaw power play, and as Lukacevic came out of the penalty box, Chad Klassen hit Lukacevic at mid-ice who beat Josh Lepp shorthanded for his ninth goal of the season to give Spokane a 4-1 lead. Myles Stoesz banged home a rebound of a Jevon Desautels shot from the crease for his first goal of the season to put the Chiefs up 5-1 at 8:46 of the period. Gustav Engman would then score shorthanded from the left point at 12:06, putting the Chiefs up 6-1. Seth Compton earned his first WHL point with an assist, and J.P. Szaszkiewicz also added a helper on Engman's second goal in as many games. After a Moose Jaw goal late in the third, Derek Ryan put in his sixth of the season from the crease to close the scoring. The goal extended Ryan's points scoring streak to seven games. Jim Watt had 41 saves for his ninth win of the year.

Friday, December 3rd SPOKANE-6 at BRANDON-8

The Brandon Wheat Kings scored two third period goals to thwart a Spokane Chiefs comeback, as the Wheat Kings defeated the Chiefs 8-6 Friday night in Brandon, Manitoba. The Chiefs overcame a 6-3 deficit to tie the game at six in the third period only to see Brandon's Ryan Reeves deflect his own rebound shot off his skates 3:15 into the third period for the eventual game winner. Brandon's Eric Fehr started the scoring at 1:58 of the first period. The Chiefs Chad Klassen would then even the score on a Spokane power play, rebounding his own shot in at 3:19 of the first. Fehr would counter with his second goal of the night just 2:07 later to put Brandon up 2-1. Derek LeBlanc's power play goal midway through the period would give Brandon a 3-1 lead, and Chiefs starting goalie Jim Watt was relieved by Kevin Opsahl. Brandon's Teghan Moore would then cap the first period scoring at 19:03 to put the Wheat Kings up 4-1 after one. The Chiefs Jevon Desautels would score his fifth goal of the season on a shot from the left circle on a feed from Joe Logan just 41-seconds into the second period to bring Spokane within 4-2. After Codi Burki made it 5-2 midway through the period, the Chiefs Gustav Engman scored his second goal of the season on the power play to cut the lead to 5-3. Brandon's Steve Later would score the Wheat Kings second power play goal less than three minutes later to make it 6-3, but Ned Lukacevic would net his eighth goal of the season on the ensuing face off, making it 6-4 just 14 seconds after Later's goal. Spokane's Chad Klassen would score his second goal of the night just 11-seconds into the third period, scoring his team high 11th of the year to bring the Chiefs within 6-5. Michael Grabner would then draw the Chiefs even just 1:01 later, rebounding a Ned Lukacevic shot past Tyler Plante to draw the Chiefs even at six apiece. Ryan Reeves would then break in on Chiefs goalie Jim Watt, who relieved Opsahl to start the third period, and shoot from the low slot. Watt made the initial save, but the puck rebounded into Reeves' skates as he was coming towards Watt and into the net for the eventual game winner at 3:15 of the third. Derek LeBlanc would tack on another goal midway through the period to cap the scoring. The Chiefs outshot Brandon 35-25, while going 2-5 on the power play.

Wednesday, December 1st SPOKANE-1 at SASKATOON-1 OT

The Spokane Chiefs took 48 shots on net on Wednesday night but Saskatoon goaltender Adam Ward turned away 47 of them, as the Chiefs tied the Blades 1-1. Saskatoon scored the first goal of the game midway through the first period, but the Chiefs would even the game on Ned Lukacevic's power play goal with 1:13 remaining in the period. Lukacevic rebound goal came on a five-on-three man advantage and was assisted by Derek Ryan and Gary Gladue. The goalies would take over in the second period, as the Chiefs Jim Watt and the Blades Ward would turn away 33 shots between them in the period. Watt stopped 16, including a breakaway from the Blades leading scorer Ryan Keller in the first minute of the period. In the third, Ward stopped 15 Chiefs shots forcing the game to overtime. It was more of the same in overtime, as the Chiefs would get the only 4 shots of the extra stanza, only to see Ward turn them all away. Jim Watt had 35 saves.

Tuesday, November 30th SPOKANE-2 at PRINCE ALBERT-5

The Prince Albert Raiders scored four unanswered goals on their way to a 5-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs Tuesday night in the opening game of the Chiefs five game Eastern Division road trip. Spokane jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Adam Hobson's backhander at 13:31 of the first period. Ned Lukacevic and Gustav Engman assisted on Hobson's third goal of the season. After Prince Albert tied the game at one, the Chiefs Derek Ryan converted a Chad Klassen feed in the slot for his fifth goal of the season while the Chiefs were on the penalty kill. Ryan's shorthanded marker was also assisted by Sean Zimmerman. Prince Albert would respond with three goals over the final 14 minutes of the second period, two of them from Kyle Chipchura, to take a 4-2 lead after two. Aki Seitsonen would cap the scoring for the Raiders with 1:45 remaining in the game to account for the final margin. Prince Albert outshot the Chiefs 34-31 in the game. Spokane's Kevin Opsahl started in net, saving 21 shots, before Jim Watt took over starting the third period. Watt finished with 8 saves on the night.

NEWS AND NOTES

ON THE ROAD...AGAIN...The Chiefs will be playing their seventh straight road game, a stretch that started on November 27th with a 3-2 overtime win at Tri-City. Spokane has gone 3-2-1 in the previous six games, with two of them going into overtime. The Chiefs next home game will be Friday, December 10th and they will be playing four of their final five games before the holiday break in the Spokane Arena.

SEVEN IS THE MAGIC NUMBER...With 19 saves versus Regina on December 5th Jim Watt equaled the Chiefs franchise record for most career shutouts with his seventh. Watt has three this year, versus Tri-City on October 9th and against Everett on November 17th to go with the Regina blanking, and four last season. His four last season also equaled a single season record. The Edmonton, AB native also set a franchise mark with a .915 save percentage. Watt finished the season with a 2.65 GAA and 16-14-1-1 record.

I'M A LITTLE SHORT...The Spokane Chiefs tied a franchise record with three shorthanded goals in one game on December 4th at Moose Jaw. Jeff Lynch, Ned Lukacevic and Gustav Engman all scored in the third period for the Chiefs in a 7-2 win. It marks the third time in Chiefs history that they have accomplished the feat, the last time being January 18th, 2003 at Tri-City in a 6-3 win. Spokane has scored five shorthanded goals in the last two games. The Chiefs scored only two while on the penalty kill all of last year.

KLASS SCHEDULE...Chad Klassen played for the Chiefs on November 30th in Prince Albert and flew out to play for Team WHL in Red Deer on Thursday versus the Russian Selects in the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge. The 19-year-old did not score in the game. Klassen is the Chiefs leading scorer with 12 goals and 33 points in 28 games. Klassen scored a career high 91 points, including 35 goals, last season.

KLASSEN'S GOT CLOUT...Chad Klassen had his fourth three point game of the season on December 4th in a 7-2 win at Moose Jaw. Klassen had three helpers and now has three goals and seven points in his last four games.

NED...Eighteen-year-old Ned Lukacevic has four goals and eight points in his last six games. Lukacevic was a fourth round selection of the L.A. Kings in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The Coquitlam, B.C. native scored a career high 19 goals last season.

THE GOOSE IS LOOSE...Gustav Engman has scored goals in three straight games, including his first career shorthanded goal on December 4th at Moose Jaw. Engman scored two goals and five points in 2003-04. The 19-year-old defenseman already has four goals and 10 points this year.

FINDING A HOBBY...Adam Hobson has four goals and seven points in his last three games. The 17-year-old scored two shorthanded goals on December 5th at Regina. The last Chief to accomplish the feat was Tim Krymusa on 1//18/03 at Tri-City. Hobson won a gold medal with Team Canada at the Under-17 Junior Hockey Championships over the summer.

RYAN'S SONG...Derek Ryan is the Chiefs leading rookie scorer and is sixth in the WHL in that category. Ryan had a seven game point streak snapped on December 5th at Regina. In that span, Ryan had two goals and eight points. Ryan scored 128 points in 50 games last season with the Spokane Braves of the KIJHL. Ryan is originally from Spokane.

LYNCH PIN...Jeff Lynch has one goal and five points in his last three games.

GARY, GARY QUITE CONTRARY...Twenty-year-old defenseman Gary Gladue has five assists in his last four games and is +5 in his last two.

OVERTIME ON OVERTIME...The Chiefs have gone to overtime in five times in a 12 game stretch winning once and tying four times, including back-to-back on November 24th and 26th versus Prince George and Kelowna. Overall, the Chiefs have gone to overtime seven times this year posting a 2-1-4 record. Spokane went to overtime 16 times last season.

LOGAN'S RUN...Eighteen-year-old Joe Logan has two goals and four assists in his last 10 games and four goals and 10 points in 20 games as a Chief. In his last three games, Logan is a +6. Originally from Gull Lake, Saskatchewan, Logan is in his third season in the WHL.

CLUTCH-N-GRABNER...Michael Grabner has nine points in his last nine games with four goals and three assists. Grabner scored his first career goal on October 29th versus Seattle. The 17-year-old was the Chiefs lone selection in the 2004 CHL Import Draft.

THE CAPTAIN...Captain Jevon Desautels has three goals in his last three games. The 20-year-old has moved up from 19th all-time on the Chiefs games played list to 10th all-time with 259 passing the likes of Trent Whitfield, Kyle Rossiter and Brad Schell. Desautels also has 586 career penalty minutes, moving past Frank Evans for 10th all-time in Chiefs history. Assistant Coach Kevin Sawyer holds the franchise record with 989 career penalty minutes.LOGAN'S RUN...Eighteen-year-old Joe Logan has one goal and two assists in his last three games and three goals and seven points in 13 games as a Chief. Originally from Gull Lake, Saskatchewan, Logan is in his third season in the WHL. BRUTON'S BLOG...Rookie Chris Bruton is second on the team with six goals scored and now has a three game assist streak. Bruton has three helpers in that span and leads all Chiefs rookies in scoring. THRILLIN' GILLEN...Steven Gillen scored one of three Chiefs goals on Saturday night and now has four on the season. Gillen has two goals and three points in his last three games. Gillen has appeared in all 21 games this season and 93 career games after 68 last season. REICH OUT...Mike Reich scored his second career goal on Saturday, November 20th versus the Calgary Hitmen on a breakaway after coming out of the penalty box. The 16-year-old was hit with a pass from Joe Logan and went to the backhand for the goal. Reich is +4 in his last three games. THE CAPTAIN...Captain Jevon Desautels has moved up from 19th all-time on the Chiefs games played list to 15th all-time passing the likes of Trent Whitfield, Kyle Rossiter and Brad Schell. Desautels also has 577 career penalty minutes, just 13 minutes behind Frank Evans for 10th all-time in Chiefs history. Assistant Coach Kevin Sawyer holds the franchise record with 989 career penalty minutes.

DOUGHNUTS...The Chiefs and Winter Hawks skated to a 0-0 tie on November 13th, the first ever of its kind in Chiefs history, spanning nearly 20 years and 1,386 regular season games. Spokane had played in 10 1-0 games, but had never had a game go the full 60 minutes, plus five extra sudden death minutes, scoreless. Kevin Opsahl had 31 saves and Dustin Butler stopped 20 shots for Portland.

ONE-TWO-ONE...After posting their first ever 0-0 tie this season, the Chiefs earned just their seventh ever 1-1 tie on December 1st at Saskatoon. Ned Lukacevic scored for the Chiefs and Jim Watt had 35 saves. The Chiefs previous 1-1 tie was on 11/11/02 versus Kelowna.

TEAM PZACIFIC...J.P. Szaszkiewicz has been named to Team Pacific that will compete in the 2005 World Under 17 Hockey Challenge in Lethbridge, Alberta from December 28th through January 4th. Szaszkiewicz scored his first career goal on November 17th versus Everett. Former Chiefs assistant Bill Peters will serve as the Head Coach.

WEST IS BEST... Spokane Chief forward Mike Reich will play for Team Western at the 2005 World Under 17 Hockey Challenge in Lethbridge, Alberta December 28, 2004 to January 4, 2005. Reich is in his rookie season as a Chief. The Craik, Saskatchewan native was the Chiefs first round selection (eighth overall) in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft.

TOP 50 COUNTDOWN...Jeff Lynch has moved into the franchise's top 25 list with 233 career games played while Chad Klassen is moving up with 199 career games played. Klassen had his 158 consecutive games played streak end on December 1st when he played for Team WHL in Red Deer. Klassen's streak dated back to October, 2002. Klassen played in all 72 games last season. The longest active streak now is Ned Lukacevic, who has played in 99 consecutive.

STOESZ PUT...Seventeen-year Myles Stoesz is first in the WHL in penalty minutes with 133 through 25 games. The Steinbach, MB native scored his first goal of the season on December 4th at Moose Jaw. Stoesz led all Chiefs rookies a year ago with 128 penalty minutes.

ROSTER NEWS...The Chiefs are carrying 23 players on its roster, including two goaltenders, seven defenseman and 14 forwards. By age, the Chiefs have three 20-year-olds, three 19-year-olds, seven 18-year-olds, six 17-year-olds and four 16-year-olds. The Chiefs feature 10 rookies. On defense, Spokane has just one rookie on its roster and six veterans.

INJURY REPORT...Matt McCue (lower leg fracture, 6-8 weeks), Scott Lynch (shoulder, day-to-day), Chris Bruton (concussion, week)

Check out the Spokane Chiefs Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from December 8, 2004


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