WHL Playoffs: After emotional Game 1 rout, Spokane Chiefs take ‘just one win’ mentality into Game 2

As division rivals, there’s no love lost between the Spokane Chiefs and the Portland Winterhawks. The two organizations are familiar postseason foes – facing each other 12 times in the postseason dating to 1986 – adding to the animosity.

Some might think a 10-4 win sets a tone for the series, but the Chiefs are taking a “just one game” approach heading into Game 2 on Sunday at the Arena.

“It didn’t matter if we beat them like we did 10-4, or 1-0,” Chiefs coach Brad Lauer said. “(Portland) forgot about it already. You know, they’re moving on. Their main focus will be on Sunday.

“It’s playoff hockey. … It’s just one win. We’ve got to focus and get ready for the next one.”

Some of that animosity spilled over in Game 1 Friday night, when Portland forward Kyle Chyzowski blindsided Chiefs captain Berkly Catton in open ice, sending the Chiefs’ best player sprawling onto the ice dazed. Linemate Shea Van Olm stood up for him, roughing up Chyzowski – who did not fight back – and earning a double minor for slashing and cross-checking.

The Chiefs downplayed it after the game, but the incident will add a spark to a fire that was already smoldering.

“I never want to put the boys in jeopardy,” Van Olm said about the resulting long penalty kill. “They’re going to be blocking shots and laying out. You know, four minutes, I probably didn’t need to do the extra one there, but you live and you learn. But, yeah, it was Game 1. So just thought maybe I’d set the tone a bit.”

“I like that you want to stick up for your teammates and all that. 100%,” Chiefs coach Brad Lauer said. “But I think in the moment where we were at, and where the score was at … we didn’t need to take four minutes. And then we were killing penalties, and then kind of put us on our heels a little bit. I mean, I like the character, you know, protecting your teammate. But it’s one of those learning situations where playoff hockey, you’re gonna have to wait it out and wait for your opportunity.”

“He’s a team-first guy. Always has been. And he’s just trying to protect me,” Catton said of Van Olm. “I think maybe he got a little emotional. We don’t always need that, but he’s just trying to stick up for me and being a good teammate, a good friend. … At the end of the day, I do appreciate him sticking up for me.”

While it remains to be seen how much of the incident will spill over to the rest of the series, what isn’t in doubt is the Chiefs’ firepower.

The home team scored twice in the opening 2 minutes, 44 seconds of the game, had five goals in the first period and led 7-3 midway through the second. What’s more, unlike previous double-digit games this season, it wasn’t just the top line of Catton, Van Olm and Andrew Cristall – the playoff’s leading goal scorer with 14.

Nine Chiefs picked up goals in Game 1, and it’s that depth that may prove the difference in the series.

“We have the big three guys up front, for sure, and everyone talks about them,” Lauer said. “But in our room, we always say it’s not a one-man team or a three-man team. It’s everybody. We need everybody to contribute in the playoffs and (Friday) we saw that.”

“It’s awesome to see everyone kind of chip in,” Van Olm said. “Our depth has been huge for us all playoffs long. So they’ve got to keep going and keep buzzing when they’re out there.”

Game 1 reversed a troubling trend for the Chiefs over the first two rounds of the playoffs. In those series, the Chiefs opponents scored first in nine of 11 games. So getting out quickly has been a point of emphasis, and the team took that to heart in Game 1 against Portland.

“You don’t expect to score 10 goals in the playoffs. And, you know, I think it was just one of those games we caught them,” Lauer said. “But that’s the urgency that we wanted to have. Come out and be ready and to be on our toes. … Our compete was there right from the start.”

“We came out really hot, and just kind of started to build off that,” Catton said. “We’ve been struggling some in this playoffs with our starts. So, we really prioritized that. Came out good, and I think it followed the rest of the game.”

Another thing the Chiefs have showed a tendency for, especially in the second-round series against Victoria, was allowing a team to creep back into the game after establishing a lead. But that wasn’t the case in Game 1, where every time Portland would score, the Chiefs just added two more.

“This is just a whole learning experience for us,” Catton said. “We’ve kind of gone through a little bit of everything, getting up and teams coming back, you know, coming from behind. I think it’s just about sticking to what we do best. … It seemed like there were (scoring) chances everywhere we looked (on Friday). We kind of dialed in the defense a little bit (through) the game, which was good. But (Portland is) a team that can score and and we’ve got to be ready to defend them.”

“It’s good to see the boys come out with some firepower from the start,” Van Olm said. “We’re just trying to score as much as we can and play our way.”