After losing two in a row, the Chiefs rebounded nicely with two straight wins last weekend over Prince Albert and Seattle. Spokane remains in third place in the U.S. Division behind Tri-City and Portland.

Friday night's game with Prince Albert saw the Chiefs power play get the team off to an early lead, as two power play goals gave Spokane a 2-1 lead after one. The penalty kill, which had struggled in the previous two weeks, went 2-2 in the first period and ended up a perfect 6-for-6 on night. The Raiders would dominate the second period, but the Chiefs would only give up one goal on 13 shots to be tied at two after two periods.

The third period was totally controlled by the Chiefs as Spokane scored three goals in the final stanza to win it going away 5-2. Matt Marantz would score his first WHL goal to give Spokane a 3-2 lead in the first two minutes of the third. Steve Kuhn would get his first of the year to give the team a huge insurance goal, and Tyler Johnson's empty netter would seal the deal for Chiefs as they beat the Raiders for the third straight year.

The Chiefs would then take on the division rival Seattle Thunderbirds for the first time on Saturday night at the Arena. Kyle Beach would get the Chiefs off to a quick start with a goal in the first 3 minutes to give Spokane a 1-0 lead after one.

Jared Cowen would make it 2-0 Chiefs just 37 seconds into the second period. After Seattle cut the lead to 2-1, Blake Gal's rebound goal would lift the Chiefs to a 3-1 lead after two. Johnson's second goal in as many nights midway through the third period would cap off a 4-1 Chiefs win. James Reid had 23 saves in the win as Spokane temporarily moved into second place in the division.

The Chiefs made a trade with Lethbridge early this week, as James Reid suffered a death in the family and will not be available to the team for their home and home series with Kootenay. Spokane acquired goalie Michael Tadjdeh from the Hurricanes for an 8th round bantam pick in 2011. Tadjdeh will see action with Chase Martin this weekend while Reid is gone. Much like the Chiefs did two years ago when they had Reid on the roster with Kevin Armstrong and Dustin Tokarski, the team will carry three goalies over at least the next month to see who stands out.

The team got forward Anthony Bardaro and defenseman Corey Baldwin back from injury last week and the two played in both games over the weekend. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon should be back within a week or two at the most, and forward Ryan Letts is about a month out with his rehab.

Otherwise, the team should be at full strength against Kootenay. This weekend's series will mark the first two of five meetings between the two rivals, who are separated by just 3.5 hours drive time. Friday's game in Cranbrook, B.C. will start at 6pm Pacific time, while Saturday's game at the Arena will be at 7pm.

I'll be on the air with the call Friday at 5:30, Saturday at 6:30 on 1510 KGA. See you at the rink!

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