The home opener could not have gone any better if you're a Spokane Chiefs fan, as the Chiefs rolled over the Tri-City Americans 5-2 last Saturday night.

After falling behind 1-0, Mitch Wahl got the Chiefs on the board with a nice individual effort to tie the game at 1 after the first period. Brett Bartman's slapper from the left point would put the Chiefs up 2-1 after two.

The third period was all Spokane as newly named captain Jared Cowen's power play goal in the first minute of the period would extend the lead to 3-1. Then newest acquisition Kyle Beach took over. Beach would score on a 5-on-3 power play from Cowen to extend the lead to 4-1, and then would have the goal of the game with a great individual effort down the slot, splitting two Tri defenders and snapping the shot home to cap the scoring for Spokane.

Beach finished the night with two goals and an assist, Wahl had a goal and two assists, and Cowen had a goal and an assist. Stephen Ulmer had three assists, while Levko Koper had two on the night. After being outshot 14-5 in the first period, the Chiefs ended up outshooting the Americans 37-25.

Beach certainly made an impact in his first start with the Chiefs, as he teamed up with Wahl and Koper for eight points on the night. Beach showed the type of skill that the team was hoping to get when they acquired him from Lethbridge last week. Cowen was a little rusty in his first game back, but it was to be expected coming back from major knee surgery and limited playing time with Ottawa at NHL camp. He also showed it won't take long for him to get back to the dominating level that led him to be drafted 9th overall in the first round.

The Chiefs showed last Saturday that they have one of the top offensive lines in the WHL in Beach, Wahl and Koper. Now the question becomes, can Tyler Johnson and Kenton Miller's lines become consistent enough offensively to take the load off Wahl's unit? Defensively and goaltending look solid for Spokane, so if the offense can produce consistent numbers from three lines, this team could turn out to be pretty darn good.

Spokane is off to a 2-0-1 start, and sits in second place in the U.S. Division behind the Portland Winter Hawks. Portland is next up for the Chiefs as they visit the Spokane Arena Friday night at 7pm. Then the Chiefs travel to Tri-Cities for a rematch with the Americans Saturday at 7pm.

I'll have the call both nights at 6:30pm on 1510 KGA. I hope to see you at the rink!

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