Spokane Chiefs

The Chiefs line up for a game with the Tri-City Americans.

The Spokane Chiefs was the name of the hockey team that played in the Western International Hockey League (WIHL) from 1982 to 1985. In their final year, the Chiefs were the regular season champions of the WIHL.[2]

The current franchise was granted in 1982 to Kelowna, British Columbia, as the Kelowna Wings. In 1985, the team relocated to Spokane, Washington, and became the Chiefs. Before the Spokane Chiefs, there was another WHL franchise in Spokane, the Spokane Flyers, which played between 1980 and 1982.

The Chiefs won the WHL and CHL Memorial Cup championships in 1991 and 2008. In addition, they have won two division titles and four Western Conference championships. The Chiefs and Portland Winter Hawks are the only United States based teams to win the Memorial Cup. The Chiefs were also the first team in the Western Hockey League to come back from an 0–3 deficit to win a best-of-seven series, which they did against the Portland Winter Hawks in 1996.

The 1991 Memorial Cup team included future NHL players: Ray Whitney, Pat Falloon, Trevor Kidd, Jon Klemm, and Scott Bailey. This team of future NHLers blew through the Memorial Cup tournament, scoring a goal in the first couple of minutes of most games.

The Chiefs won the Western Conference Championship cup in 1991, 1996, 2000 and 2008.

The Chiefs' moved to the new Spokane Arena in 1995 and has since hosted many memorable events. In the first year, the Chiefs won 50 games and advanced to the WHL finals, losing in five games to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Two years later, the Chiefs hosted the 1998 Memorial Cup, setting an attendance record at the time. In the 1999–00 season, head coach Mike Babcock led the team from a last place finish the previous year to a first place, 47-win season. The Chiefs advanced to play the Kootenay Ice in the WHL finals, but lost in six games.

Between 2001 and 2005, the Chiefs struggled, going through three head coaches in five years: Perry Ganchar (resigned), Al Conroy (fired) and Bill Peters. Spokane continued to support the team, consistently averaging 6,000–7,000 fans per game, one of the top figures in the Western and Canadian Hockey Leagues. The Chiefs are also known for a goal celebration often called the 'best in junior hockey.'[3] In 1999, the fans were named the best in the WHL. On Saturday nights, often referred to as 'Hockey Night in Spokane', the Spokane Arena is generally sold out, and sellouts are expected when the Tri-City Americans come to town.

The Chiefs lower the Memorial Cup via rope, from the roof of the Spokane Arena on Opening Night 2008. Four months earlier, the Cup broke in the Chiefs hands during the celebration in Kitchener, Ontario.

The 2007–08 season produced the most wins by a Spokane Chiefs' team since the 1999–00 season, a season which saw the Chiefs go to the WHL Finals. The team, backed by a solid goaltending tandem and an offensive attack led by Carolina Hurricanes' draft pick Drayson Bowman, ranked in the top ten of the CHL for most of the season and reached the #1 spot in late February. In one of the greatest series in WHL history, the Chiefs beat their arch-rival, the Tri-City Americans, four games to three in the Western Conference finals to earn a spot in the 2008 WHL Finals. Five of the seven games went into overtime, including three games decided in double overtime.

In the Finals, the Chiefs outscored the Lethbridge Hurricanes 15–5 and swept the series 4–0, just as they did in the 1991 WHL playoffs, to earn a trip to the Memorial Cup in Kitchener, Ontario. The Chiefs skated to a perfect 3–0 round-robin record en route to their 2nd Memorial Cup, defeating the host Kitchener Rangers 4–1 in the championship game. The Chiefs remain the only U.S. team ever to win the Memorial Cup on Canadian soil.

The Chiefs and the Portland Winterhawks made history again in the playoffs in 2010, as Portland beat Spokane in the Western Conference quarterfinals, four games to three. It is the only series in Western Hockey League history in which the home team did not win a game.

On May 4, 2010, the Chiefs announced Hardy Sauter's contract was not extended, ending his two-year stint as the team's head coach.[4] Weeks later, former Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur unexpectedly resigned from a coaching position in the AHL and was named the new head coach of the Chiefs hours later.[5]

Nachbaur's first season as head coach was predicted to finish at or near the bottom of the Western Conference, but the Chiefs finished the season with 102 points, the third highest total in team history, and only one point away from the regular season Western Conference title. Led by Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Tyler Johnson, the Chiefs led the league in goals scored and power play goals. The Chiefs also allowed the second fewest goals in the league, led by Ottawa Senators prospect Jared Cowen. Spokane advanced to the Western Conference finals, only to lose to Portland four games to two. Nachbaur was named WHL Coach of the Year for 2011 becoming the only coach in WHL history to win the honor with three different teams: Spokane, Seattle and Tri-City.

During the 2010 offseason, the Chiefs and the Western Hockey League announced the WHL's first outdoor hockey game would be played in Spokane on January 15, 2011, between the Chiefs and the Kootenay Ice. While the game was welcomed with great excitement in Spokane, many fans questioned the location of the 7,000-seat Avista Stadium, the home of the Spokane Indians baseball club. Joe Albi Stadium, a 28,000-seat facility that usually hosts high school and college football, was thought to be a much-better choice. Chiefs' owner Bobby Brett, who also owns the Indians baseball team, said the Chiefs could not reach an agreement with the city on using Joe Albi.

The Chiefs hosted the Kootenay Ice in the WHL's first-ever outdoor hockey game at Avista Stadium in Spokane. The Chiefs won the game 11–2.

Construction crews begin their work at Avista Stadium the week after New Year's. A platform was constructed between first and third base on the baseball field, and then the ice refrigeration unit was placed on top of the platform. It took crews about one week to have the ice rink ready to go.

Weather played a critical role in the lead up to the game and on game day itself. Initial forecasts called for arctic temperatures and more than a foot of snow falling on January 15. That changed the week of the game, when a warm Pacific storm went through the northwest and melted nearly a foot of snow already on the ground in Spokane. The temperatures on game day reached 50-degrees and there was no snow. Moments before the puck dropped, the sky turned cloudy and hid the sun allowing for optimal conditions. In the end, the game was played at Avista Stadium in front of a sell-out crowd of 7,075. While they enjoyed the experience, many fans complained about the view from their seats at Avista Stadium. Fans who bought front-row tickets discovered they were eye-level with the side boards, making only the upper-part of the players' bodies visible and making it impossible to see the puck.[6]

The Chiefs won the game 11–2 over Kootenay, as nine different players scored for Spokane. Brett and the Chiefs organization have said it is very unlikely an outdoor game would ever be played in Spokane again, although the following day general manager Tim Speltz did leave open the possibility of hosting a game at Joe Albi Stadium.

On Sept. 27, 2008, the Chiefs unveiled their WHL and Memorial Cup Championship banners. The Chiefs have won two Western Hockey League titles and two Memorial Cup titles. Banners for the championships hang in the Spokane Arena rafters. Division and conference championship banners are hung throughout the Arena concourse.

Most goals: 68 - Valeri Bure (1992–93)

Most career goals: 147 - Mitch Holmberg (2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14)

Most assists: 118 - Ray Whitney (1990–91)

Most points: 185 - Ray Whitney (1990–91)

Most points, rookie: 78 - Pat Falloon (1988–89)

Most points, defenceman: 85 - Brenden Kichton (2012–13)

Most penalty minutes: 505 - Kerry Toporowski (1990–91)

Best goals against average, goaltender: 1.97 - Dustin Tokarski (2008–09)

Most shutouts, goaltender: 15 - Dustin Tokarski (2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09)

Most saves, goaltender: 2,007 - Troy Gamble (1987–88)

Most regular season wins, goaltender: 85 - James Reid (2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11)

Most single-season games played, goaltender: 67 - Troy Gamble (1987–88)

Most points in standings, team: 107 (2007–08)

Most wins, team: 50 (1995–96), (2007–08)

Longest game: 2:26:05 - 4 OT's (vs. Vancouver - April 10, 2009) (2nd longest game in WHL history)

• 1990–91: Win, 4-0 vs Lethbridge
• 1995–96: Loss, 1-4 vs Brandon
• 1999–00: Loss, 2-4 vs Kootenay
• 2007–08: Win, 4-0 vs Lethbridge

• 1991 Win, 5-1 vs Drummondville
• 2008 Win, 4-1 vs Kitchener

Spokane Chiefs games are broadcast on AM 1510 KGA throughout Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and parts of British Columbia. The current play-by-play broadcaster of the Chiefs is Mike Boyle, a fill-in sports anchor/reporter for KREM 2.[9] Jay Stewart was the radio voice for Spokane through the 2001 season, taking over for longtime broadcaster Craig West who left the organization to join the Tri-City Americans. Jay Stewart is now the Director of Public Relations for the Spokane Chiefs and is the television announcer during live games.

A half-dozen games are televised in the Spokane market on SWX Right Now, a sports and weather subchannel of KHQ-TV.

• 1950–1995 Spokane Coliseum (5,400 capacity)
• 1995–Present Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena 9,916 current hockey capacity according to the spokane arena website (old capacity was 10,759)

Spokane Arena hockey attendance records

The Spokane Arena is the home of the Spokane Chiefs.

• Largest crowds: 10,759 vs. Tri-City (7 times since 1995), 10,751 Spokane vs. Val d'Or (1998 Memorial Cup opener), 10,700 vs. Tri-City (8 times since 1995), 10,650 vs. Tri-City (2 times since 1995), 10,538 vs. Tri-City (5 times since 1995), 10,530 vs. Tri City (2010), 10,529 vs. Tri-City (2 times in 2010), 10,475 vs. Tri-City (2 times in 2011), 10,431 vs. Tri-City (4 times since 1995)
• Smallest crowd: 3,025 Spokane vs. Kelowna (February 8, 2006)
• 1995–96 Sellouts: 11 (Includes NHL Exhibition Game)
• 1996–97 Sellouts: 9
• 1997–98 Sellouts: 14 (Includes 8 Memorial Cup Games)
• 1998–99 Sellouts: 5
• 1999–00 Sellouts: 5
• 2000–01 Sellouts: 4
• 2001–02 Sellouts: 2
• 2002–03 Sellouts: 1
• 2003–04 Sellouts: 2
• 2004–05 Sellouts: 3
• 2005–06 Sellouts: 2
• 2006–07 Sellouts: 2
• 2007–08 Sellouts: 3
• 2008–09 Sellouts: 4
• 2009–10 Sellouts: 4
• 2010-11 Sellouts: 3* (Includes Rockstar Outdoor Hockey Classic)
• 2011-12 Sellouts: 1
• 2012-13 Sellouts: 2
• 2013-14 Sellouts: 2
• 2014-15 Sellouts: 0

• Spokane Flyers

• Spokane Chiefs website
• Spokane Chiefs Fan Page