Chiefs Come Back to Beat Giants in OT

Carter Proft scored the winning goal 1:14 into overtime as the Spokane Chiefs came from behind to defeat the Vancouver Giants 5-4 on Wednesday night. Carter Popoff, Trent Lofthouse, Cain Franson
and Dalton Thrower scored for Vancouver in the loss.

The Giants got into penalty trouble early in the first, and the Chiefs made them pay for it. Tim Traber took a roughing minor off the opening face-off, and Mike Aviani found the net in the first minute, knocking a centring pass from Mitch Holmberg past Payton Lee to put Spokane ahead. The G-Men responded to tie the game later in the period with a shorthanded goal when Popoff forced a turnover at the Chiefs' blue line and skated in alone on Spokane goalie Eric Williams, scoring with a deke to the forehand. However, the Chiefs would retake the lead a couple of minutes later when Connor Chartier chipped a rebound into the Vancouver net as Mason Geertsen looked on from the penalty box.

The G-Men tied the game in the first two minutes of the middle frame when Lofthouse walked down the left wing and fired a hard wrister into the top right corner of the net. Franson put Vancouver ahead just after the midway mark of the period when he picked off a pass in the Spokane zone and found himself alone in the slot where he beat Williams cleanly for his seventh of the season.

The Giants extended the lead in the third when Thrower wired a slap shot from the point on the power play that found the back of the net to make it 4-2. But the Chiefs stormed back. Holmberg, the WHL's leading scorer, tallied a pretty goal on a breakaway before Jeremy McIntosh beat Lee on a point shot to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Spokane picked up the win when Tyler King stepped into a hard slapper from the right point, and Carter Proft tipped it into the net to end the game.

The Giants picked up two of a possible four points on their US road trip. They will now return home to host the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night. The face-off is set for 7:30pm. Call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com for tickets.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Tyler King - Spokane
2. Mitch Holmberg - Spokane
3. Dalton Thrower - Vancouver