Power play comes up short, Chiefs fall 3-1 in St. Paddy’s battle

Spokane, Wash. – The Spokane Chiefs faced the Tri-City Americans on Friday night, falling 3-1 in a tight fought St. Paddy’s Day bout. Spokane hit the ice wearing specialty St. Paddy’s Day jerseys that were auctioned off to support the Chiefs’ and Miller Lite’s charity partner, Big Table Spokane.

The first period was a quick, tight affair with no goals either way. Both teams had power play chances, but as the night continued nobody could break the deadlock with a man advantage.  The second period kicked off with a bang at 1:06 thanks to a Tyson Greenway goal tipped into the goal and assists to Lukas Dragicevic and Alex Serraglio.

Tri-City would get on the board again later in the period at 16:17 thanks to a tight angle centering feed and a lucky bounce off a Chiefs’ defender into the net. Luypen was credited with the unassisted goal on the play, his 14th of the season.

Spokane came out of the intermission fired-up and scored right off the bat at just 17 seconds into the third frame.

🇮🇹 meets 🇮🇪

Tommy De Luca gets us on the board just 17 seconds into the third period with his 16th of the year!#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/6YwZJlyBGZ

— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) March 18, 2023

Hayes picked up a loose puck in front of the Tri-City goal but could not slam it home. Streek’s attempt on the rebound was kept out as well, but Tommy De Luca finally slotted home the puck for his 16th goal of the season.

Birthday Boy Chase Bertholet stole the puck in the Americans’ zone but was kept out by a stellar save from Suchanek. Tri-City would capitalize on the good fortune with an insurance goal of their own at 17:38 to wrap this one up. Jordan Gavin scored it, tallying the 20th goal of the season for the talented former #2 pick in the 2021 WHL Draft. Reese Belton and Jake Sloan captured the assists on the play.

The Chiefs went 0-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Shots were even throughout the night and finished at 24 for each team.

Dawson Cowan started in net for Spokane and turned away 21 Tri-City shots.

Up next, the Chiefs return home to take on Everett on Sunday, March 19.

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The Chiefs’ next home game is Sunday, March 19 against the Everett Silvertips. It is Special Olympics Night presented by Les Schwab Tires, and features the famous Weiner Dog Races. Tickets for March 19 and all regular season games are available online at spokanechiefs.com/tickets. Make sure to use your Flex Pack Tickets and Never-A-Wasted Tickets before the end of the season, as they do not carry over to next season. 

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 in 1991 & 2008, two WHL Championships in 1991 & 2008 and four Western Conference Championships in 1991, 1996, 2000 & 2008. Over 60 alumni have gone on to play in the National Hockey League.