One goal for two

Still suited in most of his practice gear, Dustin Tokarski paused, mulling over the question. There can’t be two No. 1s, right?

Wrong.

There can be, and there are.

Quite possibly one of the toughest positions in sports, goaltenders dictate a hockey team’s confidence. In dueling netminders Kevin Armstrong and Tokarski, the Spokane Chiefs have a couple of first-rate reasons to feel secure.

The Western Hockey League’s hottest team, ranked fifth in the 50-plus franchise Central Hockey League, the Chiefs (13-2-1-2, 29 points) have allowed the fewest goals of any team in the WHL, 37 through 18 games.

“It’s a good situation for us, it really is,” Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz said. “Every game this year, with the exception of maybe two, our goaltenders have given us more than a chance to win.”

That comes in part from a miserly mix of veteran and rookie defensemen and defensive-minded forwards, but can be largely credited to the league’s top two backstoppers.

The numbers support the reasoning of Chiefs coach Bill Peters to not go with an outright starter.

If it isn’t broken, why fix it?

“Definitely, it’s an advantage,” Peters said. “Our guys are comfortable playing in front of either Dustin or Kevin – they’re both proven No. 1 guys in our league.”

Tokarski (6-1-0-1) leads the WHL with a 1.87 goals-allowed average in nine appearances, while Armstrong (7-1-1-1) sits in second with a 1.98 GAA in 10 games.

Tokarski, 18, a Watson, Saskatchewan, native, became the first Chiefs goaltender to post back-to-back shutouts in consecutive starts since Jim Watt in 2003-04. His first of the season came with 22 saves in a 2-0 win over Seattle on Oct. 27.

The Chiefs hosted the Thunderbirds last Friday and Tokarski had 21 stops in a 3-0 victory.

Before a 2-1 shootout loss last Saturday to the defending Memorial Cup champion Vancouver Giants, Armstrong, 19, had won his previous six starts, including his fourth career shutout with 18 saves in a 2-0 win on Oct. 21 at Vancouver.

Both have come a long way from where they started, maturing at different stages.

Originally listed with Portland as a 15-year-old, Armstrong, 17 at the time, joined the Chiefs in January 2006 as part the blockbuster trade with the Saskatoon Blades that also brought in Evan Haw and earned the Chiefs two future draft picks. In exchange, the Blades got Chad Klassen, Joe Logan, David Schulz and Watt.

“I was pretty excited about the trade,” Armstrong said. “It was a good opportunity to come in and be a starter and show what I (had).”

The Chiefs were looking for a young goalie with potential and they found it in Armstrong, who was immediately thrown in as Spokane’s starter.

“Maybe for him it wasn’t quite fair that we threw him into the fire big time when he first got here,” Speltz said. “And yet he was our best guy.”

Tokarski battled adversity to earn a spot on the Chiefs’ roster.

He tried out for seven Midget teams before joining the Prince Albert Mintos and went unselected in the Bantam Draft as a 15-year-old.

After camps with the Swift Current Broncos and Calgary Hitmen, he still wasn’t on anyone’s protected player list.

Tokarski was finally listed with the Chiefs in 2005 after the Mintos took home the bronze medal from the Mac’s Tournament. Before earning a roster spot last season, Tokarski led the Mintos to the Canadian Midget National Championship in 2006 with a 1.98 GAA and three shutouts.

“That was one of the best days ever,” said Tokarski of receiving the phone call from Chiefs director of scouting and player personnel Chris Moulton. “It was kind of like, finally, after all this time – that’s the feeling.

“You work really hard and you hope something will come out of it, and it finally did.”

Armstrong spent last season as the Chiefs’ primary goalie, playing in 48 games with a 2.80 GAA. When he was wiped out by an illness at the end of the season, Tokarski, a rookie who had played in 24 games during the regular season, stepped in for the playoffs.

The Everett Silvertips knocked the Chiefs out in six games in the first round of playoffs, and Tokarski finished the season with 30 appearances, a 2.79 GAA – the lowest for any first-year goaltender in the WHL – and 13 wins.

That supports another theory: The Chiefs are well-equipped should one goalie start turning in poor performances or go down with an injury or illness.

“If you only have one guy that you trust and have confidence in and something happens, you’re probably going to be in trouble, so it is good to have two goalies that have experience and can play well if something goes wrong,” Armstrong said.

It’s expected that both would want as much ice time as possible, but being the consummate team players, neither is complaining about sharing the role.

“No doubt, we’d both like to obviously play more,” said Tokarski. “Any goalie would, but we’re getting the wins.

“Army is playing great, I’m having a good year. I mean, it’s the old saying: If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

“As long as we keep winning, that’s what matters.”