The WHL playoffs resumed Saturday with the Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans meeting in Kennewick, Wash. . . . It was Game 5 and, of course, the game went into overtime. . . .
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In Kennewick, Wash., F Judd Blackwater scored at 2:28 of double overtime to give the Spokane Chiefs a 4-3 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . The Chiefs lead the Western Conference final 3-2. . . . Game 6 is scheduled for Monday in Spokane. . . . Game 7, if needed, will be played Tuesday in Kennewick. . . . Blackwater’s second goal of the game was his fifth of these playoffs. . . . Blackwater is from Lethbridge; the winner of this series will meet the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL’s championship final. . . . Spokane LW Drayson Bowman, who also had two goals, had a chance to end the game when he was awarded a penalty shot at 7:51 of the first overtime period after being pulled down by D T.J. Fast. But Bowman shot high and wide and the band played on. . . . It was the fourth time in five playoff games that these teams went to overtime. Three of those games went to double overtime. . . . “If you’re a hockey fan, I’ll tell you what . . . you didn’t pay enough,” offered Americans play-by-play voice Craig West before the second OT period started. . . . With the score 3-3, Spokane F Levko Koper went off for roughing on F Jason Reese at 15:48 of the third period. . . . On the ensuing power play, the fans roared when Fast had a shot ripple the outside of the mesh and the puck, in fact, got stuck in the net. . . . F Radek Meidl forced OT with a goal at 13:10 of the third period. . . . Blackwater opened the scoring just 1:06 into the game. . . . The Americans took a 2-1 lead on goals by F Drew Hoff, at 7:34 of the first period, and F Jason Reese, at 3:17 of the second. . . . Bowman struck for two goals, at 3:53 and 5:13 of the second, to give the Chiefs a 3-2 edge. . . . Yellow Horn drew assists on two Tri-City goals. . . . F Chris Bruton had two assists for Spokane, as did F Ondrej Roman. . . . Spokane G Dustin Tokarski stopped 40 shots, six more than Tri-City’s Chet Pickard. . . . Attendace was 5,930 as the Toyota Center was sold right out. . . . Tri-City lost Hoff to an undisclosed injury after a check from Blackwater early in the second period. . . . Meidl has four points in these playoffs, all of them goals. . . . Spokane was 1-for-7 on the PP; the Americans were 0-for-6. . . . Tri-City’s penalty killers are 46-for-49 in eight home playoff games. . . . Spokane’s power play now is 1-for-41 in seven road playoff games.
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