I think I may have the ability to jinx the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Last Friday I wrote about two impressive streaks they had going.
The first one, not having trailed for over 500 minutes, was ended that night when the visiting Powell River Kings opened the scoring.
The Chiefs came back to win that game but the next night the other streak, which was now up to 10 straight wins ended with a home ice loss to the Wenatchee Wild.
So this week I am going to test my ability at reverse jinxing.
I’m going to point out something the Chiefs are not doing well, shine some light on it and then see if the problem goes away.
Trying to find a stat that isn’t a positive one for a team that has won 17 of their first 26 games isn’t easy but I did find one.
Through 26 games the Chiefs have had 88 power play opportunities. That ranks them 17th out of 17 teams.
The second last team on that list is the Coquitlam Express who have had 99 power plays. That’s 12.5 per cent more than the Chiefs.
To give that the Chiefs number a little more perspective, the Nanaimo Clippers lead the league with 154 opportunities.
Penticton Vees forward Tyson Jost has drawn 24 penalties himself this season.
If they maintain their current pace, the Chiefs will finish the season with 196 chances with the man advantage.
I could only find league records going back 12 years and the lowest total was 201 by the 2012-13 Vernon Vipers.
Maybe the Chiefs have just been unlucky so far. Maybe they aren’t getting the calls that other teams are getting and things will return to average over the course of the entire season.
Or maybe they can tweak their game a bit to draw more penalties.
Through the first half of this season the Chiefs have the second best record in the BCHL. They’ve proved, at least so far, that they can be successful despite their inability to draw penalties.
They don’t need to improve in this area to challenge for a league championship. But imagine if they did.
The Chiefs are averaging 3.81 goals per game. That’s a good number and ranks them fifth in the league.
Finding a way to increase their power play chances would obviously lead to more goals scored. It would also decrease the number of scoring chances for opposition teams which would lead to an improved goals against average.
The Chiefs returned to their winning ways Wednesday night with a 4-0 win over the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings. They’ll try and make it two straight when they host the Coquitlam Express on Saturday.
It’s just the second meeting of the season between the two teams and the first since September.
It’s also Movember Night. Tommy Guns Original Barbershop will be at the game and anyone who wants to get their mustaches and or beards shaved off can do so by donation to help fight Prostate Cancer
A few Chiefs players will have their mustaches shaved off at centre ice during an intermission.
jb@chilliwackchiefs.net