Aviani scores 2, leads Chiefs past Oil Kings

SPOKANE - Mike Aviani scored two goals and Brenden Kichton had three assists as the Spokane Chiefs beat the defending Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings 6-4 on Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 10,125 at the Spokane Arena.

Aviani's first goal of the night came shorthanded in the first period to give Spokane a 1-0 lead after one.

Dylan Walchuk scored another shorthanded goal to give Spokane a 2-0 lead in the second period. Edmonton's Cole Benson scored the first of his three goals to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Aviani and Mitch Holmberg scored power-play goals to give Spokane a 4-1 lead after two.

Todd Fiddler scored his team-high 38th goal of the season to give Spokane a 5-2 lead early in the third. Benson and Keegan Lowe scored to pull Edmonton within 5-4 before a shorthanded goal by Liam Stewart capped the scoring for Spokane.

Spokane (35-24-2, 72 points), which went 3 of 5 on the power play, trails Tri-City by one point for fourth and leads Victoria by three points for fifth in the U.S. Division.

Spokane hosts Kamloops tonight at 7:05 at the Spokane Arena.