SPOKANE 5
VICTORIA 2
(Royals lead series 2-1)
Losing was simply not an option Tuesday for the Spokane Chiefs if they wanted to have any chance in their first-round WHL playoff series against the Victoria Royals.
Playing with a sense of urgency, the Chiefs climbed back into it with a 5-2 victory against the Royals at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Royals lead the best-of-seven 2-1.
The result snapped a 15-game Victoria winning streak.
The ice seemed tilted against the Royals from the start Tuesday. Not only was Victoria missing veteran defencemen Joe Hicketts and Ryan Gagnon for the second consecutive game, but the Chiefs were finally at home after dropping 5-3 and 4-3 decisions in Victoria, and seemed on a mission. The hosts knew they could not fall behind 3-0 to the league regular-season champions.
鈥淸The Chiefs] played a good game and were the better team tonight,鈥� admitted Victoria coach Dave Lowry. 鈥淲e need a better effort, and a full 60- or 60-plus minute effort.鈥�
Lowry pin-pointed when he thought the tide shifted: 鈥淲e had a good first couple of shifts and then got a power play in which [Spokane] had the best chances while short-handed. I thought that was the turning point.鈥�
The Chiefs attacked Victoria鈥檚 suddenly-thin blue-line, putting up 33 shots and five goals after two periods. Victoria had few answers on this night and managed only 18 shots and no goals through two periods. Victoria finally got on the board early in the third period on the power play as Matthew Phillips scored his first career WHL playoff goal. Another Victoria rookie with a career first playoff goal, defenceman Scott Walford, closed out scoring.
Spokane got goals from Jordan Henderson, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Hudson Elynuik, Presten Kopeck and veteran defenceman Jason Fram to build its 5-0 lead. Two of the Chiefs goals were on the power play.
Coleman Vollrath made 32 saves for Victoria and Lasse Petersen 22 for Spokane.
Gagnon returns tonight for the fourth game in Spokane after sitting out a two-game suspension. The injury status of Victoria captain Hicketts is described by the Royals as game-to-game.
The fifth game is Friday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria.
