Cranbrook, BC – The Kootenay ICE scored the game winner on a 3rd period powerplay in a 4-3 win over the Spokane Chiefs in WHL action on Friday night.
The ICE scored the first goal of the game while shorthanded as Max Reinhart had a breakaway and missed the net with a wrist shot and then retrieved the puck behind the net and banked it in off the back of the goalies’ leg.
Spokane tied it while shorthanded 33 seconds later as Kenton Miller roofed a wrist shot from in close.
Chiefs rookie Mitch Holmberg scored his 1st career goal on a rebound on a 3-on-2 break.
Before the end of the 1st period Dustin Sylvester completed a 3-way passing play and scored on a backhand deke through the goalies’ legs.
ICE took a 3-2 lead midway through the 2nd period as Brayden McNabb stepped into a slap shot that went in high on the glove side.
Spokane tied the game 3-3 on the power-play with Jared Cowen’s slapshot from the blue line went through the screened goalie.
ICE got the game winning goal on a 3rd period power-play as Hayden Rintoul’s wrist shot from the blue beat the screened goalie high on the glove side.
With 2 minutes left in the game Spokane hit the cross bar and goal post within a 5-second span.
It was the first half of a home-and-home with the rematch Saturday in Spokane.
It was the first of five meetings between the clubs, last year the Chiefs won the season series 4-1, with one win in an overtime shootout.
Chiefs’ Assistant Coach Jon Klemm is in his 1st year with Spokane and is a native of Cranbrook.
Chiefs’ forward Dustin Donaghy is a Cranbrook native and is one of nine players remaining on the roster from the 2008 Memorial Cup winning team. (Cowen, Letts, Johnson, Wahl, Spurgeon, Ulmer, Bartman and Koper)
ICE scratches – Drew Czerwonka 9th game (leg, 1-2 weeks), Christian Magnus 10th game (finger, 1-2 weeks), Petr Senkerik 3rd game (shoulder, day-to-day) and James Martin.
Game Summary
Spokane 4-3-1-0 Kootenay 5-7-0-0
1st Period
1. Kootenay, Reinhart 5 13:56 sh
2. Spokane, Miller (Kuhn) 14:29 sh
3. Spokane, Holmberg 1 (Cratsenberg, Bardaro) 16:09
4. Kootenay, Sylvester 4 (Reinhart, Pacovsky) 17:10
Penalties – Beach Spok (cross checking) :03, Molle Ktn (hooking) 12:23, Beach Spok (unsportsmanlike, fighting) McNabb Ktn (fighting) 13:56, Spok Donaghy Machacek Ktn (fighting) 16:44.
2nd Period
5. Kootenay, McNabb 3 (Pacovsky, Sylvester) 8:11
6. Spokane, Cowen (Wahl, Ulmer) 19:10 pp
Penalties – Machacek Ktn (holding) 15:51, Leach Spok (tripping) 18:09.
3rd Period
7. Kootenay, Rintoul 1 (King, Boomer) 9:41 pp
Penalties – Paulsen Ktn (tripping) 5:28, Beach Spok (tripping) 8:06.
Shots on goal by
Spokane – 18 – 11 – 9 = 38
Kootenay – 9 – 14 – 7 = 30
Goal (shots-saves) – Spokane: Chase Martin (L 0-1-0-0) Kootenay: Nathan Lieuwen (W 4-5-0-0)
Power plays (goals-chances) - Spokane: 1/4 Kootenay: 1/3
Referee – Chris Savage
Linesmen – Matthew Barker, Jim Maniago
Attendance – 2,844