Chiefs prevail in SO

SPOKANE - Brenden Kichton scored in the third round of a shootout to give the Spokane Chiefs a 5-4 win against the Portland Winterhawks in Western Hockey League play Wednesday night in front of 3,548 at the Spokane Arena.

Spokane took a 2-1 lead after the first as Dylan Walchuk and Kichton scored less than a minute apart late in the period.

A goal by Adam Helewka midway through the second period gave Spokane a 3-1 lead after two.

Portland cut the deficit to 3-2 on a goal by Ty Rattie, but Helewka's second goal of the night gave Spokane a 4-2 lead before the Winterhawks answered with two goals, tying the game on Rattie's second of the period to send it to overtime.

Both teams failed to score in overtime, despite Portland outshooting Spokane 8-1 in the extra period.

After taking the lead in the third round, Spokane goaltender Erik Williams saved a shot by Oliver Bjorkstand to seal the win.

Williams had 41 saves for Spokane (30-16-2-0, 62 points), which trails Portland by 15 points for first place in the U.S. Division and leads third-place Tri-City by three.

Spokane will host Portland again on Friday at 7:05 p.m. at the Spokane Arena.