Spokane, WA - 05/13/08 - The WHL Champion Spokane Chiefs practiced throughout the weekend and will do so twice more on Monday and Tuesday in their preparation for the MasterCard Memorial Cup which begins on Friday, May 16th with the host Kitchener Rangers taking on the Gatineau Olympiques, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Champions.

Spokane will travel on Wednesday to Kitchener, practice and participate in the opening ceremonies on Thursday and have the chance to watch the opening game of the tournament on Friday.

The Chiefs first game will be played at 1:00 (Spokane time) on Saturday against the Belleville Bulls, the OHL representative who has forced a game seven in the Ontario League Finals against the Rangers. Kitchener, who has an automatic berth into the tournament as the host team, won the first three games of the OHL Finals before Belleville won the next three to force a game seven on Monday night.

Spokane, who will play their three round robin games in four days, will take on Kitchener on Sunday at 1:30 (Spokane time) and Gatineau on Tuesday at 4:00.

As of now, all of the Memorial Cup games will be carried live by the NHL Network.

Spokane won the WHL title for the first time since 1991 when they swept the Lethbridge Hurricanes in four games and will be playing in the Cup for the first time since hosting the tournament in 1998.

In '91, Spokane won all four of their games on their way to the championship. The Chiefs won once and lost three times, including in overtime to the runner-up Guelph Storm in the semi-finals in 1998.

MEMORIAL CUP SCHEDULE
(all times pacific)
Friday, May 16th - Gatineau vs. Kitchener - 4:00
Saturday, May 17th - Belleville vs. Spokane - 1:00
Sunday, May 18th - Kitchener vs. Spokane - 1:30
Monday, May 19th - Belleville vs. Gatineau - 4:00
Tuesday, May 20th - Spokane vs. Gatineau - 4:00
Wednesday, May 21st - Kitchener vs. Belleville - 4:00
Thursday, May 22nd - Tiebreaker (if necessary)
Friday, May 23rd - Semi-Final - 4:00
Saturday, May 24th - Off Day
Sunday, May 25th - Final - 1:30

Practices, Interviews Take Up Player's Time

With their sweep of the Lethbridge Hurricanes complete last Wednesday, the Chiefs have had the luxury of a week off prior to traveling to Kitchener and the beginning of the Memorial Cup. Spokane will have had 11 days off before they hit the ice on Saturday, May 17th against the Belleville Bulls, the Ontario Hockey League's representative.

The Chiefs have taken up their time with practices at Eagles Ice-A-Rena after they outlasted the ice in the Spokane Arena. For Captain Chris Bruton and fellow 20-year-olds David Rutherford and Judd Blackwater they skated at Eagles for the final time in their junior career, a fact that they understood a day before they were set to depart for the Memorial Cup.

A number of hometown papers and radio stations have requested time with players including the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Winnipeg Sun and the Brandon Sun. National papers like the Globe and Mail and The Hockey News have also had phone interviews with members of the team, including Dustin Tokarski, Tyler Johnson, Mitch Wahl and Curtis Kelner. When the team arrives in Kitchener, which is less than an hour from Toronto, more of the same will be expected for the team.

Thursday will be the team's first organized Memorial Cup activity. After the coaches press conference at 3:30 the city will be putting on the opening celebration at 6:00. The Chiefs will practice at 10:00 on Friday and then play their first game of the tournament on Saturday, May 17th at 1:00, Spokane time, versus Belleville.

Check back on www.spokanechiefs.com for more information as the tournament unfolds.

Spokane, WA - 05/08/08 - The Spokane Chiefs are WHL Champions. A 4-0 sweep of the Lethbridge Hurricanes has earned Spokane the first ever Ed Chynoweth Cup and a berth into the Memorial Cup in Kitchener, Ontario from May 16th through the 25th.

Chiefs fans will have the first opportunity to welcome the WHL Champion Spokane Chiefs and the Ed Chynoweth Cup to the Spokane Arena on Thursday morning between 7:00 and 8:00.

The team will be leaving tonight and travel back home to Spokane. The bus will stop at Avista Stadium in the valley and receive an escort through downtown Spokane before arriving at the Arena. Fans are welcome to join the caravan from Avista Stadium and help escort the Championship club to the Arena.

Fans can also welcome the Chiefs when they arrive at the Arena with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Tune into the network morning shows and listen to Cat Country KDRK for more information.

With three goals, two of them game winners, Spokane native Tyler Johnson was named the series Most Valuable Player. Johnson scored to make it 2-0 on Wednesday night and Spokane tallied two more times for the win. Mitch Wahl, David Rutherford and Ondrej Roman also had goals for the Chiefs.

The Spokane Chiefs have access to a limited amount of seats to the MasterCard Memorial Cup May 16th through the 25th in Kitchener, Ontario. Chief's fans can purchase full tournament passes through the Chief's office only from 9:00 am through 5:00 pm on Thursday, May 8th. Packages, which include tickets to every available game at the Memorial Cup, are $513. There will be no availability to purchase single game seats to Chiefs games. Ticket Packages to the Memorial Cup must be paid in full on Thursday.

Friday, May 16th Kitchener vs. QMJHL
Saturday, May 17th Belleville vs. Spokane
Sunday, May 18th Kitchener vs. Spokane
Monday, May 19th Belleville vs. QMJHL
Tuesday, May 20th Spokane vs. QMJHL
Wednesday, May 21st Kitchener vs. Belleville
Thursday, May 22nd Tie Breaker (if necessary)
Friday, May 23rd Semi-Final
Saturday, May 24th Off
Sunday, May 25th Memorial Cup Final

Fans who are interested in traveling can go to www.mastercardmemorialcup.com for hotel information.

Spokane, WA - 05/07/08 - The Spokane Chiefs won their first Western Hockey League title since 1991 as Spokane defeated the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-1 in game 4 of WHL finals. With the win, Spokane won the series 4-0 to advance to the Memorial Cup in Kitchener, Ontario.

Mitch Wahl would stake the Chiefs to a 1-0 lead with his 6th goal of the playoffs at 13:14 of the first period. Wahl would take a home run pass from linemate Drayson Bowman in stride at the Hurricane blue line and snap one past Lethbridge goalie Juha Metsola to give the Chiefs the lead after one. Spokane would outshoot Lethbridge 9-4 in the period.

Tyler Johnson’s third goal of the playoffs gave Spokane a 2-0 lead at 3:37 of the second period. Johnson’s 5th of the playoffs was assisted by Levko Koper and Justin McCrae. Nick Hotson would bring Lethbridge within 2-1 at 5:28 of the period as Spokane was outshot by the Hurricanes 7-6 in the period.

David Rutherford’s power play goal at 2:40 of the third period extended Spokane’s lead to 3-1. Judd Blackwater and Ondrej Roman picked up the helpers on Rutherford’s 9th goal of the playoffs. Roman would cap the scoring with his 9th of the playoffs from assists from Blackwater and Rutherford at 16:08. Spokane outshot Lethbridge 25-18 in the contest.

The Chiefs will now face the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario League in their first game in Kitchener Saturday, May 17. Mike Boyle will have the call on 1510 KGA .

Spokane, WA - 05/06/08 - Tyler Johnson’s overtime goal gave the Spokane Chiefs a 2-1 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes Tuesday night in Lethbridge. With the victory, Spokane is one victory away from clinching the Western Hockey League title as they lead the series 3-0.

Neither team was able to score in the first period, as Spokane outshot Lethbridge 8-6 in the stanza. Spokane had the lone power play of the period, but Chiefs goalie Dustin Tokarski had to turn away a Mitch Fadden partial breakaway at the end of the man advantage to keep the game scoreless after one.

Lethbridge’s Dwight King would redirect a Jeff May shot with just 3 seconds left in the second period to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead after two periods. Lethbridge outshot the Chiefs 11-7 in the period, while getting the only power play of the second.

Spokane’s Chris Bruton evened the game at one with his third goal of the playoffs at 17:56 of the third period. Stephan Ulmer and Justin McCrae picked up the assists.

In overtime, Johnson put home a rebound of a Levko Koper shot at 6:20 to give Spokane their 5th overtime victory of the playoffs.

The Chiefs will take on Lethbridge in Game 4 of the WHL Finals series Wednesday night at 6pm. Mike Boyle will have the call on 1510 KGA beginning with Comcast Hockey Tonight at 5:30pm.

Calgary, AB - 05/05/08 - The BOSTON PIZZA WHL Player of the Week is forward Judd Blackwater of the Spokane Chiefs.

Blackwater netted five goals and one assist to go with a +3 rating in four playoff games over the last week, helping the Spokane Chiefs win the 2008 WHL Kal Tire Western Conference Championship series over the Tri-City Americans 4-3, and jumping the Chiefs out to a 2-0 series lead over the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2008 WHL Championship series.

On Monday, April 28th, at the Spokane Arena, the Chiefs hosted the Americans in game six of the 2008 WHL Kal Tire Western Conference Championship, leading the series 3-2. Blackwater picked up one goal in the contest which saw the Americans defeat the Chiefs 2-1 in the series fifth overtime game. The next evening, Tuesday, April 29th, with the series tied 3-3, game seven was set in Kennewick, Washington as the Americans hosted the Chiefs at the Toyota Centre. Blackwater netted two goals, including the game winner, as the Chiefs took game seven of the WHL Kal Tire Western Conference Championship 4-1 and advanced to the 2008 WHL Championships. Blackwater was also named the games 2nd Star.

On Friday, May 2nd, the Spokane Chiefs hosted the Lethbridge Hurricanes in game one of the 2008 WHL Championship series at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Blackwater scored one goal as the Chiefs downed the Hurricanes 4-1 to take a 1-0 series lead. The following evening, Saturday May 3rd, in Spokane, Blackwater chipped in with another goal and an assist as the Chiefs took a 2-0 series lead with their 5-2 victory. Blackwater extended his goal scoring streak to five games, having netted seven goals during that span.

The 2008 WHL Championship series now shifts north of the border as the Lethbridge Hurricanes will host games three, four and a game five if needed, at the Enmax Centre on Tuesday, May 6th, Wednesday May 7th and Friday, May 9th.

Blackwater, a 20 year old from the Lethbridge, Alberta area, is currently in his third season of play in the Western Hockey League and with the Spokane Chiefs.

The WHL has also nominated Dustin Tokarski of the Spokane Chiefs for the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week Award. Tokarski posted a 3-0-0-1 record this past week, allowing just six goal on 91 shots for a 1.470 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage

BOSTON PIZZA WHL Player of the Week - 2008 WHL Playoffs

Mar. 17 – Mar. 23: Dustin Sylvester, Kootenay Ice
Mar. 24 – Mar. 30: T.J. Galiardi, Calgary Hitmen
Mar. 31 – Apr. 6: Chad Greenan, Kootenay Ice
Apr. 7 – Apr. 13: Ryan White, Calgary Hitmen
Apr. 14 – Apr. 20: Zach Boychuk, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Apr. 21 – Apr. 27: Carter Bancks, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Apr. 28 – May 4: Judd Blackwater, Spokane Chiefs

Spokane, WA - 05/03/08 - The Spokane Chiefs took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven WHL Championship Final on Saturday night with a 5-2 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes in front of 7,815 fans in the Spokane Arena.

Games three, four and, if necessary, five will be played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday respectively in Lethbridge next week. All three games can be seen live on Comcast channel 78 at 6:00 each night or heard live on 1510 KGA with the voice of the Chiefs, Mike Boyle.

The Chiefs struck first when Judd Blackwater scored his 10th of the playoffs from below the goal line at 2:04 of the first period. Ondrej Roman’s pass on a two on one was too far out of the reach of Blackwater but the 20-year-old and chased the puck down and flipped it toward the net where it hit Juha Metosla in the pad and banked into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. In 19 playoff games, the Chiefs have scored the first goal of the game in 17 of them and have now won 14 of those.

54-seconds later Mitch Wahl slipped into the left post and tipped a perfect Jared Spurgeon pass from the top of the right circle into the back of the net for a 2-0 Spokane lead.

The Hurricanes thought they had their first of the night at 16:25 when Zach Boychuk beat a Chiefs defenseman to the puck and eventually the net. The goal was disallowed by the WHL’s video replay system as it was ruled that he had “a distinct kicking motion” at the puck. It was the first time in the series that the league used instant replay to review a play.

Lethbridge didn’t have to wait to long after to get their first official of the night when Boychuk tallied at 19:37 and make it a one goal game through 20-minutes.

In the second, Trevor Glass flopped the puck off the left wing boards where David Rutherford’s speed created a mini-breakaway on Metsola. The 20-year-old went to the forehand and slipped it between the post and the goaltender’s pads for a 3-1 lead through two periods.

Boychuk scored his second of the night at 1:11 of the third when he swatted the puck out of the air to make it a one goal game.

Drayson Bowman’s team leading 11th of the post-season gave the Chiefs a 4-2 lead at 3:48 of the third when he blasted a slap shot from the right circle that Metsola couldn’t hang onto with his glove and trickled in over the line. Roman pushed it to 5-2 at 9:21 with his eighth of the post-season.

Spokane outshot the Hurricanes 31-24 and Dustin Tokarski made 22 saves for his 14th win of the post-season.

Spokane, WA - 05/02/08 - The Spokane Chiefs took a 1-0 lead in the best-of- seven Western Hockey League Championship series with a 4-1 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday night in the Spokane Arena. Drayson Bowman scored twice as the Chiefs outshot the Hurricanes 25- 14 and went 2-7 on the power play.

After coming off a seven game bout against the Tri- City Americans in the Western Conference Championship series on Tuesday night, the Chiefs continued their high level of play by scoring 1:32 into the game and outshooting Lethbridge 12-0 in the first period. Bowman's first was a snap shot wired from the right circle for his team leading ninth of the playoffs.

His 10th came just 47-seconds into the second when he slammed home a rebound of a Chris Bruton shot in the slot. Jared Spurgeon, who was selected as the North Cedar Dental second star, had his second assist on the night. Tyler Johnson scored shorthanded at 11:14 of the period to put Spokane up 3-0.

The Chiefs pushed it to 4-0 when Judd Blackwater scored his ninth of the post-season just 1:30 into the third. Stefan Ulmer and Justin Falk had the helpers on the power play.

Dustin Tokarski had 13 saves for the win and made a stop on a penalty shot by Zach Boychuk in the third period.

Adam Chorneyko tallied Lethbridge's only goal of the game at 15:55 of the third.

Spokane and Lethbridge will face off again on Saturday night in the Arena at 7:00 for game two of the WHL Championship Final. Tickets are on sale now at the Chiefs office at (509) 535-PUCK or TicketsWest at (800) 325-SEAT.