For the Reporter

The Spokane Chiefs defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-4 Tuesday night at ShoWare Center.

It was the first time this season that Seattle has lost to Spokane, making the season series 7-1-0-0 in the T-Birds’ favor.

The T-Birds (40-23-2-4) have a two-point lead on the Chiefs (39-24-3-3) for the fourth spot in the Western Conference with three games left to play for each team.

Spokane plays the Everett Silvertips today, while Seattle does not play again until Friday, at home against the Portland Winterhawks. Everett is in the sixth spot, five points behind Seattle and three points behind Spokane. A win by the Chiefs tonight would put them tied with the T-Birds in the standings, though Seattle would have one less game played.

Seattle’s Taran Kozun, who stopped 37 of 42 shots faced, is now 18-27-2-2. Kozun is 13-8-0-1 in his 22 games with Seattle this year. Eric Williams stopped 30 shots for Spokane, getting the win to make his record 32-17-2-2.

Spokane scored first, taking the lead at 8:18. Riley Whittingham got the puck across the crease to Dominic Zwerger, who redirected it into the open net as Kozun attempted to slide across.

Alexander Delnov tied the game soon thereafter with a goal at 10:19. A two-man breakout saw Branden Troock pass to Delnov, who took a shot from near the boards as Troock crashed the net to screen Williams. The puck slipped between Williams’ pads to make it 1-1.

Sam McKechnie quickly gave the T-Birds the lead, scoring under a minute later. Jaimen Yakubowski chased the puck to the end boards and threw it back towards the faceoff dot. McKechnie collected it and snapped it toward the net just as it passed the red line, beating Williams before he could get to the post. Yakubowski had the only assist on McKechnie’s seventh goal of the season, coming at 10:42.

Adam Helewka of Spokane tied the game again, scoring at 12:16 for the game’s third goal in a minute. Connor Chartier and Evan Fiala had the assists on the goal, giving Fiala an assist in his first ever WHL game.

The period calmed down in terms of scoring from there. Seattle had a few more chances in the later half, as did Spokane near the period’s conclusion. Kozun and Williams did well to stop what got to them, though both teams sent numerous shots wide or high of the goal. The Chiefs had the period’s last shot with two minutes remaining. Kozun stopped it with ease and dove on the rebound, ending the last scoring chance of the first.

Shots were 13-11 and faceoffs were 9-6, both in favor of Spokane after a 2-2 first period.

The Chiefs had two dangerous opportunities in the first minute of the second, the first of which went wide and the second of which was swept away as Kozun laid on his back to attempt to cover. The pressure from the visitors led to the T-Birds icing the puck.

While they lost the faceoff, Spokane scored on their next rush. Mitch Holmberg shot the puck from inside the faceoff circle. Kozun was able to catch the puck near his chest, but had it dislodged by Mike Aviani. The goal was reviewed and upheld by the officials, making it 3-2 at 1:37 of the second period. Holmberg and Jeremy McIntosh had the assists.

Barzal tied the game at 5:42 in the second. Barzal deked around his defender, leaving the defenseman on the ice as he made his way in front of the net. The 16-year-old’s shot was deflected away, but Seattle retained possession and got the puck out to Jared Hauf. Hauf’s shot from the point was also fought off, but Barzal got the rebound and bounced it off Williams’ back to get Seattle’s third goal.

The T-Birds took a penalty after the goal, giving Spokane their first power play of the game. The Chiefs had an excellent chance broken up by Jerret Smith’s stick, allowing Kozun enough time to dart across the crease and cover up the ensuing shot.

A mix-up between Proft and Kozun followed on the next possession after the power play’s expiration ended with offsetting penalties and 4-on-4 hockey for a full two minutes. Seattle had several rushes during this time, all of which were fought off by Williams. The only Spokane attacks of this time were snuffed out by Seattle’s defensemen, a feat that was repeated by the Chiefs on a few of the home team’s attacks as well.

Seattle took the lead on a Ryan Gropp goal at 11:19. Barzal won the faceoff in the offensive zone, getting the puck to Justin Hickman who got the shot on net. Gropp collected the rebound and was able to hold it long enough to get around Williams and a checking defender and throw it into the empty net. Barzal and Hickman had the assists.

The visitors almost scored less than a minute later. Spokane beat Kozun with a shot in the slot, but the puck rebounded straight out off the crossbar and was eventually punched away by the Seattle defense as Kozun lay sprawled across the crease.

The Chiefs second power play came with five minutes left in the second period. Spokane tied it on the power play with a shot from deep in the zone. Hudson Elynuik scored the goal, with the assists going to Cole Wedman and Marcus Messier at 15:51 of the second period.

Williams made a spectacular save for Spokane with 2:30 left in the game. Seattle gathered the puck at the point after a clearance attempt bounced off a loose stick. Evan Wardley’s shot made it through traffic and rebounded off Williams, who was able to slide across and reach out for Roberts Lipsbergs’ rising shot immediately after.

Seattle’s second power play of the game came with 30 seconds left in the period after a delay of game call on Spokane following an icing. The T-Birds had a few chances before the period ended, but their power play carried over into the third period for another 1:38.

Up next: Portland

Seattle hosts the Winterhawks at 7:35 p.m. Friday before visiting Portland at 7 p.m. Saturday. The last regular season game for Seattle is Sunday at Tri-City against the Americans. Saturday’s game will be the last regular-season home game of the year for the T-Birds.

Tickets are available online at the T-Birds website and at the ShoWare Center box office. The ShoWare Center Box Office is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday game days at 10 a.m. and Sunday game days at noon.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period – 1, Spokane, Zwerger 16 (Whittingham, Proft), 8:18. 2, Seattle, Delnov 29 (Troock, Wardley), 10:19. 3, Seattle, McKechnie 7 (Yakubowski), 10:42. 4, Spokane, Helewka 23 (Chartier, Fiala), 12:16. Penalties – Sozanski, Spokane (holding), 1:52. Kolesar, Seattle (major-fighting), 4:32. Bechtold, Spokane (major-fighting), 4:32.

Second period – 5, Spokane, Aviani 36 (Holmberg, McIntosh), 1:37. 6, Seattle, Barzal 14 (Hauf, Hickman), 5:42. 7, Seattle, Gropp 17 (Hickman, Barzal), 11:19. 8, Spokane, Elynuik 3 (Wedman, Messier), 15:51 (pp). Penalties – Hickman, Seattle (unsportsmanlike conduct), 5:42. Wardley, Seattle (roughing), 6:19. Aviani, Spokane (slashing), 6:19. Kozun, Seattle (roughing-served by Barzal), 7:42. Proft, Spokane (goaltender interference), 7:42. McKechnie, Seattle (tripping), 14:45. Bench, Spokane (delay of game-served by Yamamoto), 19:37.

Third period – 9, Spokane, Aviani 37 (Yamamoto), 14:34. 10, Spokane, Chartier 13 (unassisted), 18:37 (en). Penalties – Hauf, Seattle (holding), 6:05.

Shots on goal – Seattle 11-12-11 34, Spokane 13-15-15 43. Goalies – Seattle, Kozun 42 shots-37 saves (18-27-2-2); Spokane, Williams 34-30 (32-17-2-2). Power plays – Seattle 0-2; Spokane 1-3. A – 5,721. Referees – Sean Raphael, Adam Griffiths. Linesmen – Ryan Gibbons, Nathan Van Oosten.