Spokane Chiefs lose at home to Everett Silvertips, 5-1

Playing their fourth game in five nights, the Spokane Chiefs looked empty as they dropped a not-so-hard-fought 5-1 game Sunday night to the visiting Everett Silvertips.

The Chiefs (14-10-2-1) came out firing early and took their only lead less than 90 seconds into the game when Adam Helewka skated free and fired a shot at Everett goalie Carter Hart. Spokane’s Riley Whittingham was waiting. He pushed his stick toward the puck and redirected it into the net.

“I saw (Helewka) and I was yelling, ‘Shoot, shoot,’” Whittingham said. “It hit my stick and it went in. I’ll take it.”

But the rest of the night was all Silvertips, who scored with 13 seconds left in the first period, three times in the second and once in the third to dominate against a Chiefs team that had won 13 of its last 16 games heading into Sunday.

“We had a decent first period,” coach Don Nachbaur said. “But they hit that fatigue wall. After playing four games in five nights, we knew we had to keep it simple.”

But Everett (14-7-0-2) simply bull-rushed the Chiefs on their own ice.

A night after the team appeared incapable of passing to its teammates in a 6-4 win over Tri-City, the Chiefs flashed crisp passing Sunday. But, several players kept coughing up the puck for unforced turnovers.

“In the second period, they had three three-on-ones that resulted in two goals,” Nachbaur said. “We don’t see teams give us those chances. We were tired and we made mental errors.”

After leading most of the first period, Everett’s Matt Fonteyne stole the puck during a Chiefs power play and raced uncontested toward goalie Matt Berlin. Fonteyne’s shot was true and his short-handed goal tied the game at 1-1.

The game was blown wide open in the second period. About eight minutes in, Everett raced past the Spokane defenders and Remi Laurencelle passed to Carson Stadnyk on a three-on-one break and Stadnyk knocked the puck into the net to make it 2-1 Silvertips.

Some seven minutes later, Everett’s Brandon Ralph beat the Chiefs down the ice during a line change and slammed it past Berlin to make it 3-1 Everett.

About 90 seconds later, Mackenzie Dwyer slapped a shot at Berlin only to have the puck redirected by Laurencelle and past Berlin to make it 4-1.

After the fourth goal, Nachbaur pulled Berlin and inserted normal starter Tyson Verhelst at goalie.

The lopsided score came despite Spokane leading 17-16 in shots on goal after two periods.

Laurencelle added his second goal at the 3:28 mark of the third period when he scored his second goal of the game and 12th of the season. He also added an assist earlier.

Late in the game, the Chiefs struggled at times to even get the puck on the Silvertips’ side of the ice.

“I think the scoreboard dictated our heart,” Nachbaur said. “We had a couple players, Helewka and Whittingham, who played excellent. They gave us a lot of chances.”

Whittingham said the team will get a week of needed rest until it next plays Friday at home against Seattle.

“We just have to regroup and come out Friday flying,” Whittingham said. “We’ll keep our confidence up. We just have to keep working. It just didn’t go our way tonight.”

Chiefs trade Olynek

The Chiefs traded 19-year-old forward Kolten Olynek to the Prince Albert Raiders in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.

Olynek, who was acquired by Spokane from the Moose Jaw Warriors in a trade last season, scored three goals and four assists in 36 games with the Chiefs.

The trade brings Spokane’s roster to 25 players, including 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders.