Chiefs drop fifth-straight, fall 7-4 to Calgary Friday afternoon
Calgary, A.B. — The Spokane Chiefs dropped their fifth-straight Friday afternoon as they fell to the Calgary Hitmen on the road 7-4.
The Hitmen were early to open the scoring as Carson Wetsch notched his 14th goal of the year just under two minutes into the first period with help from Dax Williams.
Calgary’s Ethan Moore followed that up with his first of the night at just about the halfway mark to give the Hitmen an early 2-0 lead.
But the Chiefs weren’t going into the break without a fight. With 10 seconds to go, Chase Bertholet found the puck along the boards and got it out to defenseman Brayden Crampton at the blue line who fired a rocket toward the net, where it tipped off of Conner Roulette and into the twine for his 26th goal of the season.
An absolute rocket from Crampton gets tipped off Roulette and into the net for our first goal of the game 🚀
That’s Rou’s 26th of the year! Apples for Cramps and Bertholet.#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/RkjOOYRBk8
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) January 12, 2024
The Hitmen stayed hot in the second, though, scoring three-straight goals to go up 5-1 — Moore got his second of the day at 2:12, followed by Maxim Muranov at 5:47 and Oliver Tulk at 11:31.
Three minutes later, a pileup at the Calgary net led to Carter Yakemchuk putting his hand over the puck behind his netminder. It seemed like Berkly Catton was going to take a penalty shot, but officials called it a good goal for Spokane — credited to rookie forward Hayden Paupanekis. It remained 5-2 heading into the second intermission.
This time, it was the Chiefs who scored first in the third period. Saige Weinstein fed the puck up the ice, but just past Bertholet. Bertholet was able to get it back out to Catton, who fed it across the slot back to Weinstein in the left circle, who chipped it into the net to cut it to a 5-3 game at 3:12. The goal marked the Colorado Avalanche prospect’s fifth of the season.
Berk’s dishing and Saige is serving 🚨
Weinstein cuts it to 5-3 with his 5th goal of the year! Lots of hockey left to play.#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/SgEI9O4c1B
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) January 12, 2024
Former Tri-City American Tyson Greenway netted Calgary’s sixth goal of the game at 14:01 with help from Carson Wetsch before Bertholet fired home his 15th of the year at 16:10 to put the Chiefs within two once again. Weinstein and Will McIsaac earned assists on the play.
We’re not done BerthoYET!!!
Berty gets his 15th of the season to make it 6-4, helpers for Weinstein and McIsaac.#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/4Y2DdtuWAP
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) January 12, 2024
That’s as close as Spokane would get though, as Yakemchuk capped the scoring with a goal at 17:11 to secure the 7-4 Hitmen victory.
The Chiefs will wrap up their trip through the Central Division with a game against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. PST before returning home for the first time in 2024 on Friday, January 19 to take on the Everett Silvertips.
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Ticket packages, Chiefs gear, theme night swag, and the latest news are all available at spokanechiefs.com. The Spokane Chiefs are a member of the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League, the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players. Since 1985 the Chiefs have been a pillar in the Spokane community, offering family-friendly entertainment and a winning tradition, which includes: two Memorial Cup Championships.
