Dayna Fjord

Portland survives second period-goes on to win in Spokane 4-1

Having played the Portland Winterhawks (11-4) three times already in their first 16 games this season, the Spokane Chiefs (8-7-1-1) were in need of their first really dominant frame in their fourth meeting Friday night in Spokane.They got just that in the second period, out-shooting the Winterhawks 24-9 in the second period, but due to an over-turned goal call and the stellar goaltending of Cole Kehler, they could not cut into the 3-1 lead that Portland had already built in a strong period of their own, a frame earlier.

Not being able to capitalize in a period where they got the first 11 shots on net, would doom the Chiefs to another loss-the fourth in four tries to Portland already this year. The two intra-division rivals do not play again until December 12th.

Kieffer Bellows (photo-Dayna Fjord)

Kieffer Bellows led the way for Portland with two, first period goals and Henri Jokiharju, Cody Glass and Skyler McKenzie each had two point nights.

Kehler, after his two worst outings this year, has strung together two great ones-both wins. He turned away 47 of 48 shots and now has the best save percentage (0.930) in the WHL, to go with his league-high GAA (2.18). The qualifier being this is among goalies who have played in more than five games.

Jake McGrew got things going for Spokane with 10:07 left in the opening period. McGrew made a nice little play around Conor MacEAchern at the red line and broke in on a two-one. He then fired a nice saucer pass over to Jaret Anderson-Dolan who got the shot past a sprawling Cole Kehler. This was Anderson-Dolan’s fifth goal of the year.

Portland answered back with a goal scored off a fortunate bounce. Matt Quigley’s point shot, with all kinds of traffic in front of Dawson Weatherill, bounced off a Spokane defender and in.

Portland later took a 2-1 lead with a nice pass from behind the net by Joachim Blichfeld. The Danish winger broke his five-game scoreless streak by taking his time and finding Kieffer Bellows sneaking in on the back door.

Bellows showcased some elite hand-eye coordination on his second goal of the game with seconds left in the first. Skyler McKenzie found Bellows basketball-style posting up Tyson Helgesen. His first shot was stopped by Weatherill, but the puck bounded into the air and he batted it home three feet off the ice. The goal came on the power play, Portland’s second of that type in the session.

Spokane got the first 11 shots of the second period after being out-shot 17-8 in the first. Things looked to go from bad to worse for Portland as they drew a penalty and Zach Fischer appeared to score after deflecting the puck in past Kehler. After a long review though, the goal was waved off as Fischer’s stick was ruled to have been too high. Kehler would keep everything else out for the rest of the night.

Cody Glass then put the game away in the third period with 4:46 left. Skyler McKenzie found the puck along the half-boards in his own zone and feathered a pass right to Glass for the breakaway. He was able to sneak the puck through Wetherill’s pads.

Weatherill was actually pretty good for the Chiefs-despite the loss, turning away 30 of 34.

Portland went 2/5 on the power play, while Spokane was 0/4.

Portland heads to Everett Saturday for the third game in their season series, while the Chiefs host the Tri-City Americans.

Game Notes:

-Kieffer Bellows had a little bit of a scary moment as he crossed the Spokane blue line in the second period and took a hit from Tyson Helgesen up near the chin. He went down, left for the tunnel briefly and then came back into the game.

-Ty Kolle seems to be gaining the confidence of the coaching staff with each game. He was playing regular minutes throughout, even late with Portland protecting the lead.

-Jake Gricius tied Bellows with the team-lead in shots at six.

-Alex Overhardt continues to be great at the face off dot, winning 10 of 17. Cody Glass was not as good, losing 14 of 16. Gricius was victorious in 10 of 18.

-Bellows’ point streak now hits double digits at 10 games.

-Jokiharju has 17 points in 15 games, good for fifth in the WHL among d-men. He is just one off the plus/minus league lead with a plus 20.