‘We shot ourselves in the foot’: Chiefs struggles continue with loss to Royals
The season of giving has passed, but the Spokane Chiefs were in the giving mood Friday at the Arena.
The Chiefs’ numerous self-inflicted wounds gave the Victoria Royals a 6-3 win in a matchup of the teams at the bottom of the WHL’s Western Conference.
Tanner Scott and Marcus Almquist each had two goals and an assist for Victoria. Riley Gannon added a goal and an assist.
“We shot ourselves in the foot all night long,” Spokane head coach Ryan Smith said. “We fumbled a couple pucks basically into our own net and had a couple odd goals against our goalie. I don’t take anything away from Victoria. They played well and took advantage.”
First it was a Jake Gudelj giveaway at the side of his own net that led to Almquist opening the scoring at 5:16 of the first. Saige Weinstein took a high sticking penalty away from the play that led to Victoria’s second goal, a Matthew Hodson deflection on the power play.
The Chiefs got one back when Chase Bertholet scored with 37 seconds left in the period, but the mistakes piled up in the second period.
Scott scored shorthanded on a 2-on-1 as Chiefs defenseman Mac Gross failed to take away the pass to Scott. Gannon made it 4-1 at 6:02 of the second on a shot past Spokane goaltender Cooper Michaluk . Michaluk seemed to stop the shot in his shoulder and elbow area before the puck came loose and dropped into the net behind him.
After Cade Hayes scored for Spokane at 12:42 of the second period, Scott got his second of the night a little more than a minute later when Weinstein turned the puck over in front of his net.
Ty Cheveldayoff cut into Victoria’s lead when he scored on a penalty shot at 17:21, but Almquist scored his second of the night on the power play 40 seconds later to help Victoria take a 6-3 lead into the third period.
Down three goals, the Chiefs needed to play desperate to get back into the game. Despite outshooting the Royals 9-6 in the final period, Spokane couldn’t generate any scoring chances.
“(Victoria) locked it down,” Smith said. “This league doesn’t get any easier after Christmas. Teams are fighting for points. They had a three-goal lead and we didn’t push hard enough.”
The Chiefs played with two affiliate players in the lineup–players who can only play up to five regular season games. Sixteen-year-old defenseman Nathan Mayes and 15-year-old center Owen Martin got plenty of ice time as the Chiefs look to build toward the future after trading veteran and 19-year-old Blake Swetlikoff this week.
“Nathan is a big guy who moves well. It’s really hard to step into this level, especially as a defenseman,” Smith said. “I thought he handled himself well. A little nervous with the puck but that’s expected. I thought Owen fit in really well. He’s a smart player who makes good decisions. He’s strong on the puck and skates well.”
The Chiefs also called up 15-year-old Hayden Paupanekis as an affiliate player. Smith said the big bodied center will be in the lineup tonight when the Chiefs return to the Arena ice to welcome the Vancouver Giants.