Esler picks up fourth shutout, Chiefs win fifth straight Friday vs Ams
Kennewick, Wash. – Carter Esler picked up his fourth shutout of the season on the way to the Spokane Chiefs’ fifth-straight win, a 3-0 victory over the rival Tri-City Americans, Friday night.
The Americans struggled to find their footing in the opening frame, only putting five shots on goal throughout the first 20 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, the Chiefs peppered the Tri-City net with 11 shots in the first period and finally hit the twine with 0.1 seconds left on the clock as overage forward Dominik Petr fired a one-timer from the circle to give Spokane a 1-0 lead heading into the break. Owen Martin and Tyus Sparks picked up the assists on the power play goal.
Coco Armstrong padded it to a two-goal lead when he slipped the puck past the Americans’ goalie at 13:11 in the second for his 21st goal of the season. Martin logged his second assist of the night on the play.
Carter Esler made some incredible stops throughout the final frame to keep it a close game until Logan Wormald sealed the 3-0 victory with an empty-netter at the 18:00 mark. In the end, Esler turned aside all 23 Tri-City shots on his way to his fourth shutout of the year.
Spokane’s special teams have slowly been improving of late, and that continued tonight as they went 1-for-1 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The Chiefs have won their last five-straight games and now sit at fifth in the Western Conference and second in the U.S. Division at 31-26-1-0. Up next, they’ll take on the Americans at home Saturday night for Chiefs Fight Cancer Night presented by Inland Imaging.
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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 five Western Conference Championships in 1991, 1996, 2000, 2008 & 2025. Over 60 alumni have gone on to play in the National Hockey League.
