Spokane 6, Everett 4

TALKING POINTS

No team has given Everett fits this season like Spokane. The Tips have two regulation losses in 17 outings, and both of those were to the Chiefs. Tonight’s was a third-period collapse as Spokane outscored Everett 4-0 in the third period to flip the score completely.

That said, Spokane was worth its comeback. The Chiefs used the same formula from their 5-4 victory at Xfinity Arena on Oct. 22, using a ferocious forecheck and physical play to harry the Tips into mistakes, and I thought Everett was fortunate to be leading 4-2 going into the third.

Then in the third Everett, the least-penalized team in the WHL, was uncharacteristically undisciplined. A holding penalty by Nikita Scherbak 37 seconds into the period not only nullified an Everett power play, it eventually led to a Spokane power-play goal that got the Chiefs within one. Then Noah Juulsen took a kneeing penalty midway through the period, and Spokane tied it with another power-play tally. Everett coach Kevin Constantine said he thought fatigue — Everett was playing its third game in four nights — played a role in the Tips taking five penalties in the third. Maybe the fact defenseman Kevin Davis finally took his first penalty of the season during the second period was a sign of things to come.

From there it seemed just a matter of time before the Chiefs found the winner, which they got with 3:39 remaining when Riley Whittingham whipped a pass out front, where it was redirected in by Markson Bechtold. Jackson Playfair put away a loose puck in front 35 seconds later for good measure, nullifying any thoughts of an Everett recovery.

Before Spokane’s comeback, Everett had some good things happen. Logan Aasman, who’s spent more than a year snakebitten in front of goal, scored his second in two nights, this time on an absolutely fantastic finish into the top shelf from a tight angle. Patrick Bajkov added his second straight two-point night, scoring a goal on another nice finish. But all that was essentially forgotten by the end.

TURNING POINT

After Bajkov and Aasman scored two minutes apart early in the second period to give Everett a 3-1 lead, the Chiefs took over control of play. It didn’t have an immediate effect on the scoreboard as the period ended 4-2, but Everett seemed to be playing scramble hockey from that point on.

THREE STARS

First star: Adam Helewka, Spokane. Two goals and two assists, hands down the best player on the ice.

Second star: Bajkov. One goal and one assist, he has three goals in two games and is now just three behind last season’s total of nine.

Third star: Jason Fram, Spokane. Two assists and a plus-3 from Spokane’s blue line.

The Herald’s honorable mention: Whittingham. Two assists, big set-ups for the goal that made it 4-3 and the game winner.

BOX SCORE

Spokane 6, Everett 4