Four-goal flurry boosts Chiefs to victory

It isn’t going to happen every night, but the Spokane Chiefs will take it: an easy win.

The Spokane Chiefs erupted for four second-period goals – three on the power play – and kept the Red Deer Rebels slumping with a 6-2 Western Hockey League win on Friday at the Arena.

Spokane scored on all four power plays and sent the Rebels (12-7-2-1) to their fourth straight loss. Spokane (9-9-3, 21 points) moved back to .500 on the first of a five-game homestand with the win.

Spokane broke open a 1-0 game with four goals in just 3 minutes and 41 seconds midway through the second period to win the game going away.

During that stretch, David Rutherford scored two goals and rookie Mitch Wahl added two assists (his second and third of the game). Spokane scored the first two goals of the decisive run in a 1:04 span starting at the 11:57 mark.

That’s when Drayson Bowman took a feed in the left slot from Ondrej Roman, who was camped out behind the net, and buried it for a 2-0 lead. Then, at the 13:01 mark, Rutherford made it 3-0 when he was set up by Wahl as he streaked through the right circle, drove the net, and scored on James Reimer.

Spokane took advantage of a 5-minute boarding major called on Jordan Henry of Red Deer for his hit on Derek Ryan at the 14:03 mark with the teams already playing 4-on-4. The Rebels also got a 2-minute bench misconduct penalty on the play.

Just 33 seconds later, Adam Hobson got a stick on Wahl’s slapshot from the high point to make it 4-0 at the 14:36 mark.

The Chiefs made it 5-0 on Rutherford’s second goal of the game while falling to the ice, on a 5-on-3 from the Henry penalty, at the 15:38 mark.

Red Deer added two goals, one late in the second (shorthanded) and one early in the third (on the power play), on a couple of fluke goals against Spokane goalie Kevin Armstrong – who had a solid night.

Finally, Spokane closed out the scoring on Seth Compton’s empty-net goal with just 1:31 left in the game.

The Chiefs struck first in the game. Ryan scored a power-play goal at the 11:13 mark of the first period on a feed from Roman.

On the play, Roman drew the defense to the middle of the ice, then dropped a pass backward at an angle to Ryan near the left post. Ryan put it in on off the back of Reimer’s leg just 13 seconds into the man-advantage.

Chiefs 6, Rebels 2

First Period—1, Spo, Ryan 5 (Roman, Wahl) 11:13 (pp). Second Period—2, Spo, Bowman 9 (Roman, Ryan) 13:01 (pp); 3, Spo, Rutherford 9 (Wahl) 11:57; 4, Spo, Hobson 6 (Wahl, Spurgeon) 14:36 (pp); 5, Spo, Rutherford 10 (Compton, Hobson) 15:38 (pp); 6, RD, Moore 3 17:35 (sh). Third Period—7, RD, Sutter 6 (Berube, Hanzal) 1:24 (pp); 8, Spo, Compton 4, 18:29.

Power-play Opp.—Red Deer 1 of 5; Spokane 4 of 4. Saves—Red Deer, Reimer 32. Spokane, Armstrong 21. Att.—5,057.