Tyson Verhelst had an outstanding night in the net, leading the Spokane Chiefs to a 4-2 WHL victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds at Veterans Memorial Arena on Wednesday night.
Verhelst had 37 saves, including 17 in the first period, to help get the Chiefs capture the first game of a home-and-home series between the teams. The T-Birds and Chiefs meet at 7:35 p.m. Friday at the ShoWare Center.
Seattle (17-9-2-0) tied the game 1-1 at 17:28 of the first. Donovan Neuls had the puck along the right boards and centered it to Jamal Watson in the high slot. Watson took a slap shot that deflected off a Spokane defenseman and past Verhelst. The deflection fooled Verhelst as he was going down make a glove saves and the puck knuckled over his blocker. Ethan Bear had the second assist.
The Chiefs took a 2-1 lead eight minutes into the second period. Jacob Cardiff tipped a shot from Nik Andersen past Burman. Taylor Ross split the Seattle defense to score on a breakaway at 11:24 of the second to give the Chiefs a 3-1 lead.
Seattle replaced Taz Burman with Logan Flodell after the third Spokane goal. Burman made 12 saves on 15 shots and his record is now 7-4-0-0.
Keanu Yamamoto stole the puck from the Seattle defense at the blue line to create a breakaway. Yamamoto beat Flodell on the blocker side for an unassisted goal at 18:07 of the second.
The T-Birds cut the Chiefs lead to two goals at 14:53 of the third period on a shorthanded goal from Watson. Watson got the puck from Scott Eansor and headed up ice on a two-on-one with Eansor. Watson took the puck to the net and beat Verhelst on the blocker side for his fifth goal of the season.
The T-Birds outshot the Chiefs 12-2 in the third period and 39-21 in the game.
Flodell made five saves on six shots in 28 minutes of action.
Verhelst’s record is now 13-5-0-1 with the win.
Tickets
Tickets available online at the www.seattlethunderbirds.com and at the ShoWare Center box office.
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