Spokane Chiefs, shaking off slow start to month, defeat Seattle Thunderbirds

The Spokane Chiefs started November with some bad losses that at times featured some selfish play, frustrating players and coaches alike.

But the Chiefs won two out of three on a recent road trip, and the ship is showing signs of turning in the right direction.

Those signs were evident Friday night at the Arena, where the Chiefs got back to their game plan and played within their system in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds. It was the Chiefs’ third win in a row.

Defenseman Nolan Reid had two goals and Adam Beckman had a goal and an assist in the win. Goaltender Dawson Weatherill, getting his third straight start, stopped 32 shots and picked up a tripping penalty for good measure.

“I thought there were spurts where we were really good, and other spurts where I would have liked to change things a little bit,” Chiefs coach Dan Lambert said. “Overall, we were pretty solid. We had some huge penalty kills at key times, and that gave us an opportunity to win.”

The Chiefs held a 2-1 lead in the third period when Beckman took a holding penalty. Just 36 seconds later, Michael King took a tripping penalty, giving Seattle a 5-on-3 power play for 1:24.

Despite controlling the puck nearly the entire time, Seattle couldn’t capitalize. The Spokane penalty kill got some saves from Weatherill and the skaters in front of him blocked some shots, including one blocked shot that glanced off Riley Woods’ head.

“That was extremely huge,” Weatherill said. “We were only up one goal and that made the game.”

It seemed like the game was just about over after the kill when Beckman scored at 10:50 of the third to give Spokane a 3-1 lead. But Seattle’s Tyler Carpendale scored his first of the season on a nice backhand shot past Weatherill at 11:49 of the third.

Holding another one-goal lead, the Chiefs had to kill another penalty after Weatherill swung his stick to try and knock the puck off a Thunderbirds’ stick. Weatherill’s goalie stick got the puck, but it also tripped the Seattle forward and the refs called Weatherill for tripping. The Chiefs killed that penalty, too.

“All the boys were coming up big, blocking shots and getting in lanes,” Weatherill said.

Reid sealed the win with an empty-net goal that went the length of the ice. Reid admitted after the game he wasn’t shooting for the net but just closed his eyes and hoped the puck got out of the zone.

Reid’s first goal of the night came at 1:26 of the second period to give Spokane a 2-1 lead. Reid one-timed a pass from Filip Kral past Seattle goaltender Liam Hughes.

The Chiefs were shorthanded and iced a modified lineup once again. Jake McGrew joined a group of Chiefs on the injured list. McGrew is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and missed his third straight game.

That caused Lambert to shuffle the lines, and 17-year-old Carter Chorney was bumped to the top line. Chorney took advantage of the promotion when he opened the scoring at 11:13 of the first period. It was his eighth goal of the season.

“Carter’s had a great start to the season,” Lambert said. “When you look at the people who are out and the positions they play, that gave Carter an opportunity to play in a different role. At 17 years old, to be at a top-six position is pretty special.”

The Chiefs got back to playing the way their coach has asked them to play, getting pucks deep and getting clean zone time.

“We’re buying into our systems,” Reid said. “We’re doing what the coach says, and on the ice we’re doing the little things, like chipping the puck in. That’s huge for us, because it turns their D-men and generates chances for us.”

The Chiefs are back at the Arena Saturday night when they host the Calgary Hitmen.