NOTES GOING INTO GAME 1 VERSUS VANCOUVER
VERSUS VANCOUVER:
For the second straight season the Spokane Chiefs and Vancouver Giants will face-off in the second round of the playoffs. Spokane earned a six game series win last year on their way to the WHL and Memorial Cup Championship. Ondrej Roman led Chiefs scorers with eight points (2-6-8). Drayson Bowman had one goal and five points and Levko Koper had two goals and four points. Roman and Stefan Ulmer were both +6 in the series. The Chiefs outscored Vancouver 16-11 in the series, including a 5-1 advantage in the first period. Spokane scored the first goal in five of the six games. The team that led after the second period was 4-0 while two of the games were tied after the second. The Chiefs were 2-0 in those decisions. Dustin Tokarski finished the series with a 1.67 GAA and .934 save percentage. The Giants earned wins in both regular season match-ups this year, including a 4-0 win Spokane on February 6th. Spokane was 4-4 on the penalty kill and 0-2 on the power play. Vancouver also won 5-2 at Pacific Coliseum on February 24th. Brenden Kichton scored his first career goal for the Chiefs while Steve Kuhn had Spokane’s other goal. In their two game regular season series in 2007-08, the road team won both games.
ROUND 1 vs. SEATTLE
The Spokane Chiefs won their fifth consecutive WHL playoff series with a five game victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. After splitting the first two games of the series in Spokane the Chiefs on the last three games including a pair in Seattle. Drayson Bowman had five goals and seven points and Levko Koper had a pair of goals and seven points. The Chiefs were 4-20 (20%) on the power play and 19-22 (86.4%) on the penalty kill and led after the second period in three games. Spokane outshot Seattle 35.4-31.4.
LAST GAME
GAME 5 – SATURDAY, MARCH 28TH SPOKANE-5 vs. SEATTLE-3:
The Spokane Chiefs earned a 5-3 win over Seattle on Saturday night and advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a five game series victory over the Thunderbirds. Drayson Bowman scored twice for the Chiefs in Saturday night’s win in front of 5,810 fans. His first came at 6:29 of the second on Jared Spurgeon and Mitch Wahl assists. Justin McCrae backhanded a shot net-front on the power play and gave Spokane a 2-0 lead at 13:30. Seattle pulled within one at 15:50 on a goal by Colin Jacobs. Brady Calla extended the lead to 3-1 with a mini-breakaway from the blueline where he went backhand for his first of the playoffs. Seattle took advantage of a pair of Chiefs penalties and scored a five-on-three power play goal at 12:49 to pull within one. The Chiefs answered with a power play goal of their own at 14:31 by Mitch Wahl to go back on top by two. Seattle scored again on the power play, with their net empty in favor of another attacker, to make it a one goal game again. Bowman outraced a Seattle defender at 19:18 for the empty net, insurance goal. Dustin Tokarski stopped 31 shots, including 16 in the third period, and was named the game’s first star. Spokane was 1-6 on the power play and 5-7 on the penalty kill.
NEWS AND NOTES
LOOKING GLASS…In three games of the first round series versus Seattle defenseman Trevor Glass had three assists including two on the power play. Glass has played 247 regular season games and had six goals and 19 assists in 56 games this year. The 20-year-old is in his fifth season in the WHL and has played 62 career playoff games and another eight in the Memorial Cup. Glass’s resume also includes a pair of WHL titles, one with Medicine Hat in 2007 where he led the team with a +13 in the playoffs. This will be the third year in a row that Glass has played Vancouver in the playoffs.
LETTS TALK…Chief forward Ryan Letts appeared in 60 games this season, scored eight goals, 20 points and had 97 penalty minutes, all career highs in his four year career. Letts was either a plus or even in 51 of 60 games this season. The 19-year-old has appeared in 204 career games and he played 13 post-season games last year, plus four more in the Memorial Cup.
DYNAMIC DUO…Dustin Tokarski and James Reid combined to post a 1.89 goals against average, lowest in the WHL. They also combined for 11 shutouts, seven by Tokarski and four by Reid, setting a franchise record. The 11 shutouts are tied for ninth most in a single season in WHL history.
FEELING LOW… The Chiefs allowed zero or one goal 23 times in the regular season and 145 goals in 72 games for an average of 2.01 goals against per game to lead the WHL. Only eight other teams in league history allowed fewer goals in a 72 game season and it breaks the Chiefs franchise record of 160 goals against the team set last year. Spokane also allowed just 65 goals (1.81) in 36 home games and 80 (2.22) on the road, both franchise records. The 42 power play goals they allowed were 15 fewer than 1999-2000.
BOWMAN’S BAG…Drayson Bowman led the Chiefs in scoring for the second straight season after scoring a career high 47 goals and 83 points. He had 42-40-82 last season. The 19-year-old was also a two-time winner of the league’s Player of the Week Honor (February 2nd and March 16th). The second time it came after posting back-to-back four point nights. Bowman had one goal and three assists on March 11th in a 7-2 win against Everett and then two goals and two assists in a 5-2 win over Tri-City on March 13th. Bowman became the first Chief since 1994 to score 40 goals in back-to-back seasons. The 19-year-old scored a career high four goals in a 5-2 win over Kamloops on February 25th. It was his third hat-trick of season and sixth career. In the last 30 games of the regular season, Bowman had 32 goals and 49 points. Bowman had a season high 10 game point scoring streak from January 10th through January 31st with 10 goals and 19 points in the stretch. Bowman had a hat-trick with two of the goals coming on penalty shots versus Seattle on February 18th. Bowman finished his regular season career with 130 career goals, sixth all-time in franchise history, and 241 career points, 11th all-time. The Colorado native was the Carolina Hurricanes third round selection in 2007.
IRON MEN…Dustin Donaghy, Brett Bartman and Steve Kuhn were the only three Chiefs to have appeared in all 72 games this season. Levko Koper played in 71 games, missing just one due to his participation in the Top Prospects game.
BOWMAN AND TOKARSKI HONORED…Chief goaltender Dustin Tokarski and forward Drayson Bowman were both named to the WHL’s Western Conference Second All-Star Team.
40 WINS…46 wins are the fifth most in franchise history and marks the first time that the team has won 40 games in back-to-back seasons. Spokane tied a franchise record 50 wins last year and have posted seasons of 48 (1990-91), 47 (1999-00), and 45 (1997-98) wins previously.
WAHL NUTS…Chiefs center Mitch Wahl had 13 goals and 27 points in his last 25 regular season games. The Seal Beach, CA native also has 118 career assists, 24th all-time in franchise history. The 18-year-old led the Chiefs with a +42. After scoring two goals and six points in four Memorial Cup games, Wahl was named to the tournament All-Star Team. Wahl was also selected by the Calgary Flames in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Last year Wahl led the club with 53 assists, seventh in the WHL, and finished second on the team in scoring with 73 points. Wahl also finished tied for fifth in the WHL with a +33.
LIKE A SPURGEON…Nineteen-year-old Jared Spurgeon had 16 points in his last 17 regular season games, including a one goal and four assist night on February 14th versus the Edmonton Oil Kings. The following night he had three helpers in a 5-3 win over Prince George. Spurgeon had two five point nights this year. In his last 25 games, Spurgeon has five goals and 25 points.
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CALLA-RIES…Brady Calla had 11 goals and 26 points in 31 games as a Chief in the regular season. Spokane acquired Calla on January 7th from the Kamloops Blazers. Calla appeared in 321 career regular season WHL games, scored 62 goals and 182 points with Everett, Moose Jaw, Kamloops and Spokane. Calla was Florida’s third round pick in the 2006 NHL Draft. Calla started the season with the Rochester Americans, Florida’s AHL affiliate.
TOKARSKI SETS MARK…Goaltender Dustin Tokarski has won 77 career games in a Spokane jersey, the most all-time in franchise history. Tokarski won 13 games as a 17-year-old rookie in 2007-08 and 30 games last season. Through 54 starts this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s fifth round selection won 34 games.
TIC-TALK WON’T STOP…Dustin Tokarski finished the regular season with the league’s lowest goals against average at 1.97 and was the only goaltender that qualified for the league lead to have a goals against average under 2.00. Tokarski won 11 straight games, equaling the franchise record he set last year, from December 3rd through January 31st. Tokarski had a 1.16 goals against average, a .959 save percentage and three shutouts during the span. Tokarski also led the WHL with a .936 save percentage and was tied for the league lead with seven shutouts. Tokarski has 15 shutouts for his career, a franchise record. Tokarski signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who selected him in the fifth round last summer.
TOKARSKI IS GOLDEN… Goaltender Dustin Tokarski stopped 39 Swedish shots and helped Team Canada win the World Junior Championship crown on January 5th with a 5-1 decision in Ottawa, Ontario. Tokarski is the first Spokane goaltender to back stop Team Canada and the first Chief to win a gold medal since Trent Whitfield and Hugh Hamilton did it in 1997, a junior team coached by the Spokane’s Mike Babcock.
ROMAN EMPIRE…Ondrej Roman scored the game winning goal with 39-seconds remaining on February 15th in a 5-3 win over Prince George. Roman had a seven game point scoring streak snapped on February 20th at Seattle. Roman had four goals and 12 points through the stretch. The 19-year-old has points in 20 of 31 games in Spokane this year and finished the regular season +20. Roman led the Chiefs in scoring last year in the WHL playoffs with 9-12-21. The Dallas Stars selected Roman in the fifth round in 2007. Roman finished second on his team in scoring with 4-4-8 in a sixth place finish at the World Juniors for the Czech Republic.
USA NEWS…The United States finished fifth at the World Junior Hockey Championship after a 3-2 overtime win over the Czech Republic. Drayson Bowman finished with three goals and four points, Mitch Wahl had one goal and four points and Tyler Johnson had one goal in six games.
ULMER WINS GOLD, HONORS… Stefan Ulmer was named the Best Defenseman of the 2009 IIHF Group B World Junior Hockey Championships after leading Austria to the gold. Ulmer also led the tournament in scoring with five goals and 11 points in helping Austria win the tournament.
KEEPING UP WITH JOHNSON…Tyler Johnson had 18 goals and 36 points in the 32 games since returning from the World Junior Hockey Championships. Johnson is the first Spokane product to play for the United States at the World Juniors. Johnson attended the Phoenix Coyotes camp in the pre-season and was named the Western Hockey League Finals MVP against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
KOPER’S COUNT…Levko Koper leads the Chiefs in scoring during the post season with two goals and five points and had six goals and 15 points in his last 19 games. Koper recorded his first career hat-trick on November 1st in a 5-1 win over Kootenay. His 23 goals were 11 better than his career high of 12 set last year. The 18-year-old had a career best 11 game point streak at the start of the season. Koper is in his third season in Spokane with 189 games played. Koper scored two goals in the Memorial Cup, including the overtime game winner in the first game of the tournament against Belleville.
DRAFTED PLAYERS…Brady Calla (Florida, 3rd round, 2006), Drayson Bowman (Carolina, 3rd round, 2007), Justin McCrae (Carolina, 4th round, 2007), Ondøej Roman (Dallas, 4th round, 2007), Mitch Wahl (Calgary, 2nd round, 2008), Dustin Tokarski (Tampa Bay, 5th round, 2008), Jared Spurgeon (NY Islanders, 6th round, 2008)
