Spokane Chiefs - History

History

The Spokane Chiefs was also the name of the hockey team that played in the Western International Hockey League from 1982 to 1985. In their final year the Chiefs were the regular-season champions of the WIHL.

The current franchise was granted in 1982 to Kelowna, British Columbia as the Kelowna Wings. In 1985, the team relocated to Spokane, Washington and became the Chiefs. Before the Spokane Chiefs, there was another WHL franchise in Spokane, the Spokane Flyers, which played between 1980–1982.

The Chiefs won the WHL and CHL Memorial Cup championships in 1991 and 2008. In addition, they have won two division titles and four Western Conference championships. The Chiefs and Portland Winter Hawks are the only United States based teams to win the Memorial Cup. The Chiefs were also the first team in the history of the Western Hockey League to come back from an 0–3 deficit to win a best-of-seven series, which they did against the Portland Winter Hawks in 1996; the feat has happened only one other time, when the Kelowna Rockets came back from an 0-3 deficit to defeat the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2013.

The 1991 Memorial Cup team included future NHL players: Ray Whitney, Pat Falloon, Trevor Kidd, Jon Klemm, and Scott Bailey. This team of future NHL'ers blew through the Memorial Cup Tournament, scoring a goal in the first couple of minutes of virtually every game.

The Chiefs' move to the new Spokane Arena in 1995 proved to be good luck. Along with being called the gem of the Western Hockey League, the Arena hosted many memorable events in the first year and saw the Chiefs win 50 games and advance to the WHL finals, only to lose in five games to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Just two years later, the Chiefs hosted the 1998 Memorial Cup, setting an attendance record at the time. In the 1999–00 season head coach Mike Babcock led the team from a last place finish the previous year to a first place, 47 win season. The Chiefs advanced to play the Kootenay Ice in the WHL finals, but lost in six games.

Between 2001 and 2005, the Chiefs struggled to find an identity. The organization went through three head coaches in five years: Perry Ganchar (resigned), Al Conroy (fired) and Bill Peters. Still Spokane fans, known for their robust support, continued to turn out. The Chiefs consistently average 6,000–7,000 fans per game, one of the top figures in the Western and Canadian Hockey Leagues. The Chiefs are also known for a goal celebration often called the 'best in junior hockey.' In 1999, the fans were named the best in the WHL. On Saturday nights, often referred to as 'Hockey Night in Spokane', the Spokane Arena is generally sold out, and sellouts are expected when the Tri-City Americans come to town.

The 2007–08 season produced the most wins by a Spokane Chiefs team since the 1999–00 season, a season which saw the Chiefs go to the WHL Finals. The team, backed by a solid goaltending tandem and an offensive attack led by Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Drayson Bowman, ranked in the top ten of the CHL for most of the season, and reached the #1 spot in late February. In one of the greatest series in WHL history the Chiefs beat their arch-rival, the Tri-City Americans, 4 games to 3 in the Western Conference finals to earn a spot in the 2008 WHL Finals. Five of the 7 games went into overtime, including 3 games decided in double overtime.

In the Finals, the Chiefs outscored the Lethbridge Hurricanes 15–5 and swept the series 4–0, just as they did in the 1991 WHL playoffs, to earn a trip to the Memorial Cup in Kitchener, Ontario. The Chiefs skated to a perfect 3–0 round robin record en route to their 2nd Memorial Cup, defeating the host Kitchener Rangers 4–1 in the championship game. The Chiefs remain the only U.S. team ever to win the Memorial Cup on Canadian soil.

The Chiefs and the Portland Winterhawks would make history again in the playoffs in 2010, as Portland beat Spokane in the Western Conference quarterfinals, 4 games to 3. It is the only series in Western Hockey League history in which the home team didn't win a game.

On May 4, 2010 the Chiefs announced they declined to exercise the option on Hardy Sauter's contract, thereby ending his two-year stint as the team's head coach. Weeks later, speculation begin swirling when former Tri-City coach Don Nachbaur unexpectedly resigned from a coaching position in the AHL. Just hours later, Nachbaur was named the new head coach of the Chiefs, further sparking the heated rivalry between Tri-City and Spokane.

Nachbaur's first season as head coach would be one filled with low expectations. Most picked Spokane to finish at or near the bottom of the Western Conference. But Nachbaur's Chiefs finished the season with 102 points- the third highest total in team history, and only one point away from the regular season Western Conference crown. Led by sniper and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Tyler Johnson, the Chiefs led the league in goals scored and power play goals. The surprising Chiefs would also allow the second fewest goals in the league, led by Ottawa Senators prospect Jared Cowen. Spokane would advance to the Western Conference finals, only to lose to Portland four games to two. Nachbaur was named WHL Coach of the Year for 2011 - becoming the only coach in WHL history to win the honor with three different teams (Spokane, Seattle and Tri-City).