Final 20 Minutes Edge Hitmen
The final 20 minutes ended up being the difference.
The Hitmen fell to the Spokane Chiefs 6-4 Tuesday night, dropping to 4-8-1 on the year.
A two-goal Hitmen lead in the final frame vanished half-way through and ultimately saw the Chiefs capture the two points.
“It’s extremely disappointing for us,” head coach Dallas Ferguson said. “It was right there for us.”
“You have an opportunity at home up 3-2 after 40 and you have to get the job done. It stings a little bit.”
Matteo Gennaro would score twice on the powerplay while Andrei Grishakov and Cael Zimmerman also score for the Hitmen. Nick Schneider finished with 32 saves.
Zach Fischer, Hudson Elyniuk, Nolan Reid, Riley McKay, Eli Zummack and Riley Woods all found the back of the net for the Chiefs. Donovan Busckey made 30 saves to record his first win of the year.
Goals came fast and furious in the first 20 with the Hitmen scoring first just a minute in thanks to Grishakov’s third of the season. Gennaro would then give the Hitmen a 2-0 lead on the powerplay before the teams traded goals with the Hitmen holding onto a 3-2 lead after 20.
The second period saw chances go both ways for the clubs but nothing on the scoreboard changed.
Gennaro would score his second of the game again on the powerplay but after the marker, the Chiefs stormed back to score four unanswered goals.
“It’s a disappointing loss,” Gennaro said. “We had that game in our grasp and just had a couple mental lapses in the third that cost us.”
“It should’ve been two points for us but we came out with zero.”
Reid and McKay would score just five minutes apart to tie the game up before a late powerplay saw Zummack capitalize to score the game-winning goal.
Woods would add an empty netter to ice the game and give the Chiefs their second win in a four-game Central Division swing.
The Hitmen will now look to regroup Friday night when they visit the Lethbridge Hurricanes before returning home Saturday night to host the Seattle Thunderbirds.
“We can have learning experiences sometimes they just can’t keep happening,” Ferguson said on the mindset going forward. “We’re always going to find ways to get better.”
“Right now, this is a hard loss to swallow.”
