Beckman leads Chiefs in romp

SPOKANE — Adam Beckman recorded a hat trick and Bobby Russell had three assists for the Spokane Chiefs in an 8-3 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Western Hockey League play at the Spokane Arena on Saturday.

Campbell Arnold had 25 saves in net for Spokane, which outshot Seattle 31-28.

Eli Zummack and Copeland Fricker opened the scoring for Spokane, which led 2-1 after the first period. Beckman scored two of his three goals in second period, with Matt Leduc scoring his first of the season to give Spokane a 6-2 lead.

Ben Thornton capped the scoring with his first goal of the season in the third period for Spokane (6-7-2-1, 15 points), which moves past Seattle (7-11-0-0, 14 points) for third in the U.S. Division.

Spokane hosts U.S. Division-leading Everett tonight at 5.