Mason Beaupit’s 19 saves not enough as Spokane loses to Edmonton 3-1
It might be back to the basics at practice for the Spokane Chiefs.
The Chiefs started slow, were plagued by poor passes and bobbled pucks, and allowed the Edmonton Oil Kings to skate away with a 3-1 win Friday at the Arena.
The Chiefs made a late push in the third period when they outshot Edmonton 22-2, but it was way too late.
“It was a bad game by pretty much everybody on our team. Nobody showed up in the first period,” coach Ryan Smith said. “We had some moments in the second and tried to push in the third, but we weren’t really good tonight.”
The win was Edmonton’s first of the season, while the Chiefs came in with two wins and one loss. The Chiefs outshot Edmonton 34-22 thanks to the third-period onslaught, but they were outshot 20-12 through two periods.
Mason Beaupit made 19 saves for Spokane. Kolby Hay stopped 33 for Edmonton.
The Chiefs also went scoreless on six power play opportunities.
“It was a lack of chemistry and a lack of execution,” Smith said. “Guys not putting their foot down when they had the chance. It wasn’t good, the power play and the penalty kill. It was a bad game tonight, and we need to be better.”
The Chiefs didn’t do themselves any favors with poor passes and puck control. Multiple passes ended up in skates or bouncing off a stick.
“That’s a skill that we worked on all week because we did the same thing against Kamloops (on Oct. 1),” Smith said. “We can’t make passes. We bobble pucks. Those are hockey basics, and we weren’t good at it tonight.”
Mason Finley, the brother of former Chief Jack Finley, opened the scoring on the power play with less than three minutes remaining in the first period, giving Edmonton a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Chiefs had a little more jump in the second period but couldn’t find the net. Shea Van Olm scored on a nice one-timer at 16:30 of the second, and Cole Miller put home his own rebound after a chance on a breakaway with just four seconds left in the second period.
Jake Gudelj scored Spokane’s lone goal when he put home a rebound at 6:52 of the third period.
Edmonton made things difficult for Spokane with blocked shots and sticks in passing lanes.
“It’s definitely frustrating. You have to create a lane for yourself and if it’s not there, you have to throw it down deep,” Chiefs captain and defenseman Raegan Wiles said. “Sometimes I think we forced it a little too much when we could have just reset it with our forwards. It’s frustrating with all that traffic.”
The game was the first against an Eastern Conference team since spring 2020. The Chiefs last played the Oil Kings on March 4, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic then shut the rest of the season down, forced teams to play a 25-game, division-only season in spring 2021, and the league played only conference games last season.
The Chiefs will regroup and welcome the Portland Winterhawks on Sunday.