Spokane over Kitchener

[dagley]

Way to go Chiefs, WHL hockey is by far the best :D

[dondo]

Well done!

I'm pretty sure that the Rangers haven't seen hockey that tight this season at all. I thought the Chiefs would do well versus these teams and thankfully I have been proven correct. Good to see the Bowman, Wahl, Bruton line stepping it up at the right time. Just wait until the Rudy, Roman and Blackwater get rolling.

Keep it rolling Spoke! Make all of the dub proud! :clap:

[HomerSimpson]

Well done!

I'm pretty sure that the Rangers haven't seen hockey that tight this season at all. I thought the Chiefs would do well versus these teams and thankfully I have been proven correct. Good to see the Bowman, Wahl, Bruton line stepping it up at the right time. Just wait until the Rudy, Roman and Blackwater get rolling.
Keep it rolling Spoke! Make all of the dub proud! :clap:

They're getting their chances also...Judder has had a number of good looks, but has been snake bitten so far. If Gatineau isn't ready to match us up on Tuesday defensively, I look for all 3 of our top lines to come up big. If we can play our game against that team the way we did Kitchener tonight, there's no reason we won't get a bye into the finals. I just don't see Claude Giroux's team putting up 5 goals against us...but Belleville showed everyone just how vulnerable our defense can be.

What an up and down game this was...Kitchener (maybe outside of Tri) is the only team I've seen able to skate with us for 60 consecutive minutes. Great game played by both teams; tight and right down to business. It's no wonder the Rangers won the OHL - they're a very, very good team and I would expect no less than to see them in the finals.

[HomerSimpson]

BTW - think nothing of my comment about the Rangers being able to skate with us. Vancouver and Lethbridge also played very well against us, but they weren't able to match our up-tempo style for the whole series. Sorry if there was any confusion. vci11

[sbtatter]

Go Spokane, nice first 2 games, keep it going for the dub!!

[Pete76]

BTW - think nothing of my comment about the Rangers being able to skate with us. Vancouver and Lethbridge also played very well against us, but they weren't able to match our up-tempo style for the whole series. Sorry if there was any confusion. vci11


They all skated with us ... but Tri has to be thinking that they matched up well against all of these teams as well .... crazy to see bowman/wahl getting it done w/o any offence from rudy/judder/roman ... judder has had a few almost go in ... man how much did that shorthanded goal remind me of tri cities ... that must be in the scouting report about the chiefs ... I sware it is amazing how far we are going with an impotent pp ... when we go a man up, I'd almost rather have the guys get a roughing penalty just to even it up ... rather than wait and see if the D can jump the pass on the blue line and get a 1 v 1 with tik ... had to miss the 3rd period for my daughters b-day, but thanks to DVR I am turning it on now :)

[LifelongChiefsFan]

They all skated with us ... but Tri has to be thinking that they matched up well against all of these teams as well .... crazy to see bowman/wahl getting it done w/o any offence from rudy/judder/roman ... judder has had a few almost go in ... man how much did that shorthanded goal remind me of tri cities ... that must be in the scouting report about the chiefs ... I sware it is amazing how far we are going with an impotent pp ... when we go a man up, I'd almost rather have the guys get a roughing penalty just to even it up ... rather than wait and see if the D can jump the pass on the blue line and get a 1 v 1 with tik ... had to miss the 3rd period for my daughters b-day, but thanks to DVR I am turning it on now :)


I disagree about being shorthanded. I do agree that the Chiefs are somewhat prone to giving up shorties, but I think they've only given up 2 or 3 in the playoffs this year including the one tonight. That's not too horrible. As for the PP well look who they had to face! I believe Everett, Vancouver, Tri-City and Lethbridge were all in the top 7 in PK during the regular season. That's some pretty stiff competition and the Chiefs PP actually did well against Leth and Evt and did start to click at the end of the Tri series. I'm not surprised by the low PP conversion rate at all. What really shocks me is how the Chiefs' PK has improved. They finished 15th this year at 80.5% and improved that to 91.5% in the playoffs. That is incredible. They were so calm killing that 45 second long 5-3 to start the 3rd against Kitchener today and I don't think they even gave up 1 shot. I used to dread it when the Chiefs went on the PK especially against dangerous teams like the Ams, but now I know they can kill it. Great to see that turnaround, because not allowing 2 or 3 more power play goals was the difference between Spokane making the Memorial Cup and going home after the conference finals.

[LinkGaetzFan]

WHAT A GAME! They had their chances, but as usual we didn't allow any great ones aside from the breakaway.

The Olympiques seem to have more holes than swiss cheese. I hope we can fully exploit them.

GO CHEIFS!! yeehoo

[DOF]

Nice game by the Chiefs. Bruton/Bowman/Wahl has been great in both games and Blackwater is getting his chances with a couple getting the post. Johnson had a exceptional game today as well as Cowen. Glass struggled but they came out with the win and almost guarantees the WHL will be in the finals, Way to go boys!!!! and that is coming from an Americans fan....

[Scout]

Rangers' Unice sharp, but outduelled in goal by Tokarski
By Christine Rivet, Record staff

KITCHENER — An improved effort from Josh Unice wasn’t enough as his Kitchener Rangers suffered their first loss at the Memorial Cup, a 2-1 defeat to the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday.


Unice made 27 saves at the Aud, many of them spectacular, including a blocker stop as Spokane’s Judd Blackwater wheeled past Kitchener’s defence in the third period.


The Chicago Blackhawks’ prospect struggled mightily in a 6-5 overtime win over the Gatineau Olympiques in Friday night’s opener. Unice’s performance was so uncharacteristically wobbly, in fact, that it had people wondering if his previously-injured collarbone had flared up.


Unice said not a chance.


“It’s one hundred per cent,” he said.


Question marks surrounded the rookie goalie after Rangers all-world starter Steve Mason suffered what appears to a season-ending knee injury through the Rangers’ Ontario Hockey League championship run.
Unice has continually answered those questions, Rangers coach/GM Peter DeBoer said.


“Obviously, (Unice) was a lot better than in Game 1 (against Gatineau). Any time you give up two goals, that’s a good night defensively,” said DeBoer. “You are not going to win many games scoring one goal. That was the problem tonight. It wasn’t in net.”


Still, Unice knows he has to be better than the guy at the other end of the ice if the Rangers are to win their second Memorial Cup championship in five years.


“I played about as well as I thought I could. But that doesn’t mean anything. I still have to make one more save there.”


In Sunday’s battle of 18-year-old netminders, Unice gave the edge to Spokane’s Dustin Tokarski.
The undrafted Tokarski, of Watson, Sask., broke the Chiefs’ franchise record for consecutive shut-out minutes, a span that lasted 186 minutes and 15 seconds through their Western Hockey League playoff run.


Tokarski said he thought Unice was unduly hard on himself.


“(Unice) played great. He gave up two on what, 30 shots (29, actually). Not a lot of goalies can stop Drayson Bowman in the slot. I think he was screened on the first goal,” said Tokarski after his own 36-save performance.


After Kitchener’s Matt Halischuk scored shorthanded to give the Rangers a one-goal lead 4:21 into the first period, Spokane’s Justin Falk fooled Unice on a floater from the blueline about 12 minutes later.


In the second period, the Chiefs went into shut-down mode after Bowman, the tourney’s leading scorer, scored his fourth goal in two games to give Spokane the margin of victory.


The Chiefs improve to a 2-0 (won-lost) record at the four-team event. They’ll face Gatineau on Tuesday.
Kitchener meets familiar rivals, the Belleville Bulls, on Wednesday.


Said Unice: “We are in a little bit of a hole, but we are not life or death right now.”

[Scout]

Kitchener vs. Spokane Memorial Cup Sunday
2008 Memorial Cup round-robin
Sunday, May 18: Kitchener vs. Spokane, 4:30 p.m.

1 2 3 OT T PP S
Kitchener 1 0 0 - 1 0/4 37
Spokane 1 1 0 - 2 0/4 29

4:30 p.m. Peter Labourdias and Sam Cosentino of Sportsnet are setting the stage for today's game. They've mentioned the fact that the first two games of the tournament have gone into overtime, with Kitchener and Spokane emerging as winners after both blowing three-goal leads during their games. "This will be a beauty," Labourdias says as they go to commercial. We'll see.

4:31 p.m. Oh, by the way, Ryan Chen-Wing, your regular live blogger so far, is taking a break today. And well-deserved, too. This is Karlo Berkovich, Record associate editor/online content, sitting in.

4:32 p.m. Rangers back to wearing their regular uniforms today (their whites) after donning the memorial uniforms for Game 1 of the Cup.

FIRST PERIOD

4:44 p.m. Trouble for the Rangers. Mike Duco crashes into the boards and goes to the bench hurt. We'll see if he returns. Big loss if he doesn't.

4:45 p.m. Rangers penalty.

4:46 p.m. So what, if you're a Rangers fan. Matt Halischuk scores on a shorthanded breakaway for Kitchener. 1-0 Rangers. And Duco is back, taking a regular turn.

4:51 p.m. They're talking to Bill Peters, the Spokane coach. He says the Chiefs can't afford to focus on any one Ranger, such as Justin Azevedo, due to Kitchener's depth. Can you imagine being a coach and having to do an interview during the game? You see this stuff at all-star games, when it means nothing, but this is nuts. Just wait until they interview Rangers coach Peter DeBoer. He always looks like he'd rather be anywhere else but with a microphone on his face when they chat with him.


4:54: Another penalty to the Rangers. Yannick Weber. Just got back from injury today. More rest for him. Hooking. But Rangers did OK last time, scoring shorthanded.

4:59 p.m. Just a quick impression, but Rangers look like the quicker team. They were just foiled on a 2-on-1.

5:01 p.m. Another hooking penalty to the Rangers' Weber. Third straight power play for Spokane.

5:04 p.m. David Rutherford takes an interference penalty for Spokane.

5:06 p.m. Rangers just had a power play, 1:25 duration. No result.

5:11 p.m. Spokane ties it 1-1 off a faceoff deep in Rangers territory. Screen shot by Justin Falk from the point, looked like it hit something in front. Maybe not. Falk gets credit for it.

5:15 p.m. Tie game, 1-1 after 20 minutes. Shots: Spokane 18, Kitchener 11. Fast, intense game, fun to watch. As have all the games so far during the tournament.

SECOND PERIOD

5:32 p.m. We're underway. Three quick shots by Rangers. Still 1-1. Don't worry, we'll tell ya when someone scores.

5:39 p.m. Commentators are suggesting the Chiefs are targetting Ranger goalie Josh Unice's blocker side, figuring it's a weakness.

5:40 p.m. Glove side. Drayson Bowman, 2-1 Spokane. Wide-open snap shot from between the faceoff dots.

5:40 p.m. Back comes Spokane to nearly score again. Commentators suggest maybe a goal and a replay review but no chance for that yet, few whistles in this end-to-end barnburner. There's a whistle, finally. Quick replay to commercial, red light went on behind the Rangers' net. Not even close to being in. This'll still be 2-1 Chiefs. Fabulous hockey.

5:44 p.m. They're interviewing Rangers coach Peter DeBoer. He likes how the Rangers are playing despite being down 2-1, likes the way his club is forechecking and creating chances. He looked like he liked doing this interview better than previous times I've seen him.

5:47 p.m. Trevor Glass off with a penalty. Rangers have a power play.

5:51 p.m. Nearly 2-2. Alex Dzeielski just missed, glove side. Hit glove, then iron. Of course, putting the puck in the crowd is as close as hitting a post when you think about it.

5:56 p.m. The good for Rangers: Duco smashes Glass in front of the Spokane net. The bad: Then the Rangers take a too-many-men on the ice penalty. Will we see an ugly? (I just watched that movie this morning).

5:59 p.m. Unice just made a nifty glove save on Rutherford. Were former Montreal Canadien commentator Danny Gallivan still alive, he'd have described it as making the save in "rapier-like fashion."

6:07 p.m. These teams are starting to develop a dislike for each other. Increased pushing and shoving. Just over a minute to go, Rangers get a power play.

6:10 p.m. Period ends. And none too soon for the Chiefs; Rangers all over them on the power play. But Dustin Tokarski is shining in goal for Spokane. Rangers outshot the Chiefs 18-7 in period two, 29-25 overall so far. Chiefs took another penalty at the 20-minute mark, so Rangers will have a 5-on-3 man advantage to start the third period.

THIRD PERIOD

6:29 p.m. We're back underway. Rangers storm into the Spokane zone.

6:36 p.m. Unice stops a Spokane breakaway. Will this prove to be the save of the game? Could have been 3-1 Spokane.

6:43 p.m. 10 minutes to go in regulation. One-goal margin. Two unbeaten teams. The winner is guaranteed a berth in at least the semifinals. Amazing intensity out there in front of 6,688 fans. Right now, I'm thinking these teams will meet again in the final.

6:55 p.m. Another big chance for Spokane. Turnover in Rangers' zone but luckily for Kitchener, Chiefs fanned on the puck. Then a quick 2-on-1 but Spokane players overpassed, no shot.

6:57 p.m. Another Spokane 2-on-1. Foiled. Rangers reeling right now.

6:58 p.m. For a moment, Rangers were reeling. Quickly turn the tables but what the TV guys have been saying all day is true; the Chiefs collapse so well defensively in their own zone, outnumbering the offensive players in the zone.

7:01 p.m. Less than a minute left, Unice out for extra attacker. Another OT game? Or just a terrific one-goal contest?

7:02 p.m. It's over. 2-1 Spokane. What a start to this tournament. Two OT games, all three decided by one goal.

Can't wait for tomorrow when two teams badly needing a win, Belleville and Gatineau, hit the Aud ice.

[CJSenterprise4]

Go Spokane Go!! Clinched a Playoff Spot is huge! Bowman is amazing!

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

Way to go Spoke. Your in the final. Now put the boots to the Olympique. I think Blackwater will get a couple tonight. He is due that's for sure.

[dondo]

^ The Rudy, Roman, Blackwater line was getting a lot of chances in the game versus Gatineau, but couldn't finish. They're about due to be sure. I expect them to be evident in the Championship game.