Chiefs Drop Preseason Opener to Winterhawks
The Spokane Chiefs dropped a back-and-forth preseason opener on Friday afternoon as they fell to the Portland Winterhawks 6-5.
An action-packed first period featured the Winterhawks jumping out to an early 2-0 lead before Chiefs second-year forward Erik Atchison notched Spokane’s first goal of the preseason at 8:42 to cut the Portland lead to one. San Jose Sharks prospect Jake McGrew tied things 2-2 at 13:48 before Seth Jarvis reclaimed the lead for Portland heading into the first intermission.
Spokane defenseman Bobby Russell again pulled things even at 3:09 in the second before Eli Zummack pushed the Chiefs ahead 4-3 at 5:37. Portland managed to take advantage of a 5-on-3 chance midway through the period to re-tie the game at 4-4. [related_links]
After the two sides traded goals to open the final period, the Winterhawks reclaimed the lead at 6-5 when they were able to again utilize a 5-on-3 power play chance with a trio of Chiefs in the penalty box.
Spokane goaltender Reece Klassen played the entire first period, stopping 7-of-10 Winterhawks shots while Lukáš Pařík was 18-of-21 over the final 40:00. Portland’s Joel Hofer finished the afternoon 22-of-27. Spokane went 2-for-7 on the power play while Portland went 3-for-7.
The Chiefs take on the Everett Silvertips tomorrow at 7:00pm. You can follow the action live online here.
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For more information, visit the Chiefs’ Ticket Office at Spokane Arena, call 509-535-PUCK or go to spokanechiefs.com.
