The Spokane Chiefs, and a majority of the WHL, will have until Friday night off when they travel to Tri-City to take on the Americans for the fourth time this year. Just one game in the league dots the calendar this week when the Americans host Everett on Wednesday night as the WHL’s attention will be focused on the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge in Prince Albert and Swift Current. Team WHL will play Team Russia on Wednesday and Thursday night. Dustin Tokarski, Jared Spurgeon and Jared Cowen will all play for Team WHL.

The Chiefs are coming off a 3-3 swing through the East Division and have just one game remaining in their seven game road stretch, Friday in Tri-City. Saturday night, Spokane will host the Kamloops Blazers in their first home game since a 5-2 win on November 12th over the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Saturday’s game begins a stretch where Spokane will play six of seven games at home leading up to the holiday break.

The Chiefs enter the week with a one point lead over the Tri-City Americans for first place in the U.S. Division.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

THIS WEEK

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH at TRI-CITY AMERICANS
AIR-6:30 / GAME-7:00

The Chiefs will travel to the Tri-City Americans for the second time this year in their fourth match-up of the season. Spokane is 2-0-0-1 on the season earning five out of six points with Tri-City. Stefan Ulmer had three assists and scored the decisive goal in the shootout on November 8th in the Spokane Arena for a 4-3 Spokane win in their last meeting. The Americans won 3-2 in a shootout on October 18th in Kennewick in the game prior to that. Dustin Donaghy and Mitch Wahl scored for Spokane but Johnny Lazo scored the only goal of the shootout for Tri-City’s win. Spokane shutout the Americans 4-0 on September 27th, the Chiefs home opener, as Dustin Tokarski stopped 31 shots. The Chiefs put 19 shots on net. Mitch Wahl, Mike Reddington, Levko Koper and Seth Compton all had goals for the Chiefs. In last year’s Western Conference series, the Chiefs earned the victory on their way to the WHL and Memorial Cup titles. Five of the games went into overtime with three of them heading to double overtime. In the 2007-08 regular season, Spokane and Tri-City played 12 times with the Americans winning seven of the games, three in overtime or a shootout. Through 20 years of the rivalry, the Chiefs lead the series 120-106-1-5 with 13 ties.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH vs. KAMLOOPS BLAZER
AIR- 6:30 / GAME-7:00

Spokane will play their third of four meetings on the year versus the Blazers when they host Kamloops. The Chiefs are 2-0 on the season versus the Blazers, including a 5-2 win on October 17th in their last match-up of the year. Drayson Bowman had two goals and an assist and Mitch Wahl and Jared Spurgeon each had two helpers in the win. Spokane was 1-3 on the power play, 7-8 on the penalty kill and outshot the Blazers 44-25. The Chiefs scored a season high six goals on September 30th in their first meeting of the year in Kamloops. Bowman scored twice and had two assists as the Chiefs outshot the Blazers 35-32. Spokane was scoreless in their only one power play chance and were 5-7 on the penalty kill. The Chiefs were 3-1 against Kamloops last year, including wins in their last three games of the year.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND at SWIFT CURRENT BRONCOS
AIR-5:00 / GAME-5:30

NEWS AND NOTES

THREE WILL PLAY FOR TEAM WHL…The Canadian Hockey League and the Western Hockey League announced that three Chiefs, goaltender Dustin Tokarski and defensemen Jared Spurgeon and Jared Cowen, will compete in the 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge for Team WHL. The ADT Canada Russia Challenge is taking place through the 27th in Canada as Canadian Hockey League All-Star Teams, from each of its three member Leagues (WHL, OHL and QMJHL), take on the Russian National Junior Team in a six game series. The QMJHL finished 1-1 and the OHL was 2-0. Team WHL was selected by a special committee of WHL General Managers along with Al Murray, Hockey Canada’s Head Scout for the Canadian National Junior Team, as part of the selection process for the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships. The three Chiefs will play in games on November 26th in Swift Current and November 27th in Prince Albert.

D-FENCE…The Spokane Chiefs have allowed a league low 1.92 goals per game, the only team in the WHL below two. Goaltenders Dustin Tokarski and James Reid have combined to post a 1.77 goals against average this year with a .946 save percentage.

CHIEFS ADD FORWARD... The Chiefs added 6’0”, 175 pound forward Kenton Miller to their roster last week. The 17-year-old has played three games with the Chiefs. Miller, who hails from Redvers, Saskatchewan, scored five goals and six points in 24 games with the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League this year.

KOPER’S COUNT…Levko Koper has 11 goals in his last 13 games, including his first career hat-trick on November 1st in a 5-1 win over Kootenay. Koper’s team leading 16 goals are four better than his career high of 12 set last year. The 18-year-old has points in 18 of 26 games this year, including a career best 11 game point streak at the start of the season. Eleven of his points have come on the power play, a team high. Koper is also +12. Koper is in his third season in Spokane with 144 games played. In a career high 69 games last year, Koper scored 12 goals and 26 points and added another four goals and nine points in 21 playoff games. Koper scored two goals in the Memorial Cup, including the overtime game winner in Spokane’s first game of the tournament against the Belleville Bulls.

ULMER FUDD…Defenseman Stefan Ulmer has one goal and seven assists in his last eight games and now has three goals and 19 points in 26 games to lead all Chiefs blueliners. Ulmer also scored the decisive goal in a six round shootout with the Tri-City Americans on November 8th for a 4-3 win.

LETTS TALK…Ryan Letts has five goals and 10 points and is +11 in his last 19 games. Letts has been either a plus or even in 23 of 26 games this season. Letts scored a career high two goals on Friday, October 10th in a 6-2 win at Portland and has played 169 career WHL games.

REDDINGTON’S READY...Mike Reddington has four assists and is +4 in his last 12 games and has played in 168 games in two-plus seasons, 27 playoff games and four more in the Memorial Cup. Reddington appeared in 71 of 72 games last season and led the Chiefs with 102 penalty minutes.

WAHL NUTS…Chiefs center Mitch Wahl has 15 goals and a team leading 27 points in 23 games this year. The 18-year-old is also +16 on the season. Wahl has points in 16 of the 23 games he has played this year. This is his third season in a Spokane jersey and he has played 157 career games in two-plus seasons. After scoring two goals and six points in four Memorial Cup games, Wahl was named to the tournament All-Star Team. Wahl was also selected by the Calgary Flames in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Last year Wahl led the club with 53 assists, seventh in the WHL, and finished second on the team in scoring with 73 points. Wahl also finished tied for fifth in the WHL with a +33.

PROJECT POWER PLAY…This season, Avista will donate $25 to Project Share for each power play goal the Chiefs score. Through 26 games, the Chiefs have scored 25 goals on the man advantage for a total of $625. In their last 20 games, the Chiefs are 24-70 (34.3%) on the power play and they own the fourth best percentage (24.3%) in the WHL.

HOME, SWEET HOME…Spokane is 10-2 at home and have scored 45 goals and allowed 16. The Chiefs had back-to-back shutouts to begin the home season, 4-0 against Tri-City on September 27th and 5-0 versus Everett on October 3rd.

LOOKING GLASS…Defenseman Trevor Glass was +4 with an assist on October 25th against the Prince George Cougars. Glass appeared in his 200th career WHL game on Saturday, October 18th in Tri-City and has now played 212 games. Glass has two goals and seven assists in 21 games. The 20-year-old is in his fifth season in the WHL and has played 59 career playoff games and another eight in the Memorial Cup. Glass scored Spokane’s third goal, his only of the Memorial Cup, in a 4-1 win over the Kitchener Rangers in the final game to help the Chiefs win the championship. In 2007-08, Glass had three goals and 12 points as a Chief in 27 games after being acquired in a January, 2008 trade. The defenseman was also +15 in Spokane. Glass’s resume also includes a pair of WHL titles, one with Medicine Hat in 2007 where he led the team with a +13 in the playoffs. The Cochrane, Alberta native was a former first round selection in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft (10th overall).

BOWMAN’S BAG…Spokane forward Drayson Bowman has nine points in his last seven games (3-6-9). Bowman has scored 94 career goals, 16th all-time in franchise history. Bowman has 11 goals and 14 assists in his last 22 games. Bowman is in his fourth season in Spokane after leading the team in goals (42) and points (80) last year. Bowman was named the Chiefs Player of the Year in 2007-08. The Littleton, Colorado native was the Hurricanes third round selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

REID BETWEEN THE LINES…Eighteen-year-old James Reid earned a shutout in his third career start with 27 saves on November 5th versus the Red Deer Rebels. Reid has a 1.22 goals against average, a .959 save percentage and 3-0-0-1 record.

DUSTIN TIME…Chiefs goaltender Dustin Tokarski is second in the WHL with 1.79 goals against average, first with a .943 save percentage, is third with 13 wins and first with three shutouts. Tokarski now has 11 shutouts for his career, setting a new franchise record after he posted back-to-back shutouts for the third time in his career, second time in the regular season, with blankings on September 20th against Portland and September 27th against Tri-City. Tokarksi’s third of the year came with 30 saves against Everett on October 3rd. Tokarski was named the Memorial Cup MVP after going 4-0 with a 1.72 GAA, a .953 save percentage and a 52 save performance in the Championship game. Through games five and six of the second round versus Vancouver and one and two against Tri-City Tokarski had a stretch of 186 minutes and 15 seconds without allowing a goal. The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Tokarski in the fifth round in 2008. In 2007-08, the 19-year-old set a slew of records in net for Spokane, including most shutouts in a season (6), most consecutive wins (11-October 13th through December 2nd), best goals against average in a single season (2.05) and best save percentage (.922).

TEAM COWEN-ADA…Defenseman Jared Cowen was named an Alternate Captain and helped Team Canada win a gold medal at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka under-18 World Championships. Cowen is in his second season in a Spokane jersey. In his rookie season, Jared Cowen appeared in 68 games, scored four goals and 18 points. His +28 led all rookie defenseman in 2007-08. Cowen is eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

BARTMAN…Brett Bartman is +13 on the season. The 19-year-old posted a career high +6 in a 6-2 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Tuesday, September 30th. Bartman appeared in 48 games last season with six assists and a +16.

KEEPING UP WITH JOHNSON…Spokane’s own Tyler Johnson has two goals and 10 points in his last 13 games and leads the Chiefs with four game winning goals, including a breakaway with seven minutes remaining to snap a 1-1 tie on October 25th versus the Prince George Cougars. Johnson had one goal and two assists in a 6-2 win at Portland on October 10th and has six goals and 21 points in 22 games. Johnson attended the Phoenix Coyotes camp in the pre-season and was named the Western Hockey League Finals MVP after scoring three goals in four games, including game winners in games three and four against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. In 2007-08, Johnson led all Chiefs rookies with 69 games, 13 goals and 35 points.

COMPTON’S CORNER…Twenty-year-old forward Seth Compton is in his fifth season in the WHL, all with the Chiefs, and has played in 250 career games (22nd in franchise history), including a career high 71 games in 2007-08. Compton also scored a career high 13 goals and 20 points last year. Compton was named the Player’s Player after last season.

DRAFTED PLAYERS… Drayson Bowman (Carolina, 3rd round, 2007), Justin McCrae (Carolina, 4th round, 2007), Mitch Wahl (Calgary, 2nd round, 2008), Dustin Tokarski (Tampa Bay, 5th round, 2008), Jared Spurgeon (NY Islanders, 6th round, 2008)

INJURY REPORT…Justin McCrae (knee, day-to-day), Trevor Glass (shoulder, day-to-day), Mike Reddington (groin, week-to-week)