Chiefs host Game 7 tonight

SPOKANE — What else did you expect?

The Spokane Chiefs and Portland Winterhawks are playing in a seventh and deciding game of their Western Hockey League Western Conference first round playoff series tonight.

Spokane followed suit on Monday night with the sixth straight victory by a road team in a 4-3 win in Portland.

Spokane will host Portland tonight at 7 at the Spokane Arena. The game will be televised live on FSN.

It will be the fifth time that Spokane has played a final and deciding game against Portland. In franchise history, it will be the 10th time overall that Spokane will play one. Spokane has played one game nine (1985-86) and eight more game sevens.

In total, the Chiefs are 5-4 in winner-take-all contests. It will be the third straight playoff season that the Chiefs will play a Game 7. In 2008 Spokane won a 4-1 decision on the road in Tri-City during the Western Conference championship series. The Chiefs dropped an overtime Game 7 in Vancouver in last year’s second round of the playoffs. Eight Chiefs off this year’s roster were a part of the 2008 team while 11 played in the Vancouver game.

The last time the Chiefs hosted a Game 7 was 2003 when the Chiefs earned a win over Portland in the Spokane Arena in 2003.