Chiefs get past T-Birds in overtime | WHL

The Spokane Chiefs defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-4 in overtime Wednesday night at the Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane.

This was the second game of a home-and-home series between the teams. The T-Birds defeated the Chiefs 3-2 Tuesday night at the ShoWare Center.

Seattle (18-13-3-1) took a 1-0 lead at 7:10 of the first period. Ryan Gropp carried the puck into the Spokane zone on the left wing. Gropp stopped up and got the puck to Donovan Neuls who skated into the left circle. Neuls centered the puck to Keegan Kolesar in front of the Chiefs net. Kolesar put the puck over Spokane goalie Jayden Sittler for his fifth goal of the season.

Spokane (15-14-5-1) tied the game 1-1 at 9:12 of the first on a goal from Tyson Helgesen. Nolan Reid and Kailer Yamamoto had the assists.

Kailer Yamamoto was awarded a penalty shot at 13:58 of the first when he was hooked on a shorthanded breakaway. On his attempt, Yamamoto came down on Seattle goalie Matt Berlin and took a shot from the slot, missing the net wide right.

Spokane outshot Seattle 15-8 in the first period.

The Chiefs went in front 2-1 at 1:05 of the second period on a shorthanded goal by Hudson Elynuik. Yamamoto had the only assist.

Elynuik extended the Chiefs lead to 3-1 at 4:54 of the second. Jake Toporowski and Dalton Hamaliuk had the assist.

The T-Birds cut the Chiefs lead to one at 7:41 of the second. Luke Ormsby passed the puck to Elijah Brown who carried the puck into the Spokane zone. Brown drove the net and from just outside the crease, as he was falling, centered the puck to Nolan Volcan in the low slot. Volcan put the puck over Sittler’s right shoulder for his 12th goal of the season.

Zack Andrusiak tied the game 3-3 when he tapped in a pass from Tyler Adams at 10:14 of the second. Anthony Bishop took a pass from Brown on the right wing and gained the offensive zone. Bishop dropped the puck for Adams at the right point. Adams found Andrusiak at the back door with a pass that looked like he was taking a wrist shot. Andrusiak had the whole net to shoot and easily tied the game.

Spokane took a 4-3 lead at 11:20 of the third when Yamamoto scored from the slot. Jaret Anderson-Dolan had the only assist.

The T-Birds came right back and tied the game 4-4 less than three minutes after Spokane’s goal. Ryan Gropp took a shot that rebounded off Sittler. Jarret Tyszka banged the loose puck past the goalie for his fourth goal of the season. Neuls had the second assist.

Ty Smith scored the winning goal at 1:12 of overtime. Elynuik and Yamamoto had the assists.

Spokane outshot Seattle 52-20 in the game.

Seattle goalie Matt Berlin had 47 saves on 52 shots and his record is now 3-0-2-0.

Sittler made 16 saves on 20 shots. His record is now 9-6-2-0.

Rivalry resumes

The T-Birds’ next game is Friday against the Portland Winterhawks at the ShoWare Center at 7:35 p.m. They then travel to Portland on Saturday for the annual New Year’s Eve game against the Winterhawks. Face-off is 7:30 p.m.

Fans may purchase game tickets online or at the ShoWare Center box office. Season tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period – 1, Seattle, Kolesar 5 (Neuls, Gropp), 7:10. 2, Spokane, Helgesen 5 (Reid, Ka. Yamamoto), 9:12. Penalties – Ross, Spo (goaltender interference), 13:01. Missed Penalty Shot – Ka. Yamamoto, Spo, 13:58. Helgesen, Spo (major-fighting), 17:04. Kolesar, Sea (major-fighting), 17:04. Kousal, Spo (tripping), 19:55.

Second period – 3, Spokane, Elynuik 13 (Ka. Yamamoto), 1:05. 4, Spokane, Elynuik 14 (Toporowski, Hamaliuk), 4:53. 5, Seattle, Volcan 12 (Brown, Ormsby), 7:41. 6, Seattle, Andrusiak 2 (Adams, Bishop), 10:14. Penalties – Hyman, Sea (major-fighting), 4:40. McKay, Spo (major-fighting), 4:40. Ka. Yamamoto, Spo (holding opponents stick), 11:11.

Third period – 7, Spokane, Ka. Yamamoto 21 (Anderson-Dolan), 11:20. 8, Seattle, Tyszka 4 (Gropp, Neuls), 14:13. Penalties – Kolesar, Sea (slashing), 7:38. Mowbray, Spo (tripping), 16:37.

Overtime – 9, Spokane, Smith 2 (Elynuik, Ka. Yamamoto), 1:12. Penalties – No penalties.

Shots on goal – Seattle 8-4-8-0 20, Spokane 15-23-13-1 52. Goalies – Seattle, Berlin 52 shots-47 saves (3-0-2-0); Spokane, Sittler 20-16 (9-6-2-0). Power plays – Seattle 0-4; Spokane 0-2. Referees – Ryan Benbow, Sean Raphael. Linesmen – Jeremi Del Campo, Daniel Spore.