TIGERS LOSE THIRD STRAIGHT
The Tigers and the Spokane Chiefs faced off against each other for the first time since December 2, 2010. Both teams have hit a bit of the slide over their last ten games. The Tigers are 2-5-1-2 over their last ten, while the Chiefs are 3-4-2-1. The Chiefs put a halt to their slide with five straight goals to secure a 6-3 road win.
Matthew Konan opened the scoring for the Tigers with a blast from the point on the power play. Emerson Etem added to the Tigers lead before the end of the first to give the Tigers an early two goal lead. After the Chiefs came back with five straight goals, Jayden Hart scored his fourth of the season to cut the lead to 5-3 but that was as close as they would come. Hunter Shinkaruk and Emerson Etem both collected a pair of assists to add to their season totals. Goaltender Tyler Bunz played well and made a number of great saves. He saved 30 of 35 shots in the loss.
The Chiefs got in an early hole but came back with five straight goals. Brenden Kichton scored the first and Mitch Holmberg and Collin Valcourt each added a pair. After the Tigers cut the lead to two late in the third, Mitch Holmberg completed the hat trick with the empty net goal. Luke Lee-Knight started the game in net for the Chiefs and allowed two goals in the first. Mac Engel came in to start the second and only allowed one goal on 10 shots during the remainder of the game.
Earls Three Stars of the Night:
1) Brenden Kichton – Spokane Chiefs
2) Mitch Holmberg – Spokane Chiefs
3) Steven Kuhn – Spokane Chiefs
Dickies Hardest Working Player – James Bettauer
The Tigers’ next game is Sunday afternoon against the Calgary Hitmen at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Game time is 4:00 (MST) and can be heard live on CHAT 94.5 FM at tigershockey.com or watched via webcast at livestream.whl.ca.
