Chiefs tame the Wild with hard-nosed 2-1 victory
Spokane, WA – The Spokane Chiefs returned to home ice following the holiday break with the first of two in a row against Wenatchee. A Friday night crowd of 8,879 eager Chiefs’ fans filled the arena for the first home game in almost two weeks. Spokane Captain Berkly Catton and forward Asanali Sarkenov missed out on Chiefs’ action once again as they are with their respective national teams for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.
The first period was fast-paced with few stops as neither team could find the breakthrough. Wenatchee was penalized twice but the Chiefs power play could not take advantage, with Dawson Cowan making several excellent saves in Spokane’s goal.
The Chiefs found the net in the second period thanks to a rare goal from young forward Cohen Harris at 7:21, his third of the season. Harrington blocked off a defender giving Harris open space on the back post. Schoettler fired it to him from the blue line and the forward buried it from close quarters for the 1-0 lead. Coco Armstrong would also be credited with an assist on the play for his fourth point of the season.
Wenatchee would answer just minutes later, taking advantage of the power play opportunity following a Matthew Edwards holding call. Kenta Isogai scored his 14th of the season at 9:23 to tie the game at one goal apiece.
The third period was a tight affair with Spokane finding the eventual winner through forward Sam Oremba. The 19-year-old found the goal unconventionally, with a high pass from Coco Armstrong bouncing off his body into the net for his 9th of the year at 4:03.
The Chiefs would hold on late, as Wenatchee peppered the goal with 12 shots in the final period including two minutes of empty net action to end the game. Spokane and Wenatchee were both 1/5 on the power play and Dawson Cowan earned first star after stopping 32/33 shots faced.
Next up Spokane will head to Wenatchee Saturday night for a rematch against the Wild before games in Tri-City and Portland next week. The Chiefs’ will return home on Saturday, January 4th for the Fred Meyer Wall Calendar Giveaway and Sunday, January 5th for Neurodiversity Awareness Night, both against the Kamloops Blazers.
