WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee Wild return to the Town Toyota Center Wednesday fresh off of a three game road trip that included record-tying team performances.
Below is a recap of each of the three games, as submitted by the Wenatchee Wild's Media Relations and Broadcast Manager Austin Draude.
Wild Tie Franchise Record With 6-5 Comeback Win At Powell River Friday
POWELL RIVER, British Columbia — New year, same late-game excitement.
In the first Wenatchee Wild outing of the new year, Cade Littler took over the team’s goal-scoring lead with a hat trick on Friday, sneaking a 2-on-1 chance past Kyle Metson to earn a 6-5 overtime win over the Powell River Kings. The victory tied a 14-year-old franchise record for the biggest comeback win in Wild history, erasing a 5-1 Kings lead with a period to go.
Quick strikes characterized the game for Powell River, with the Kings taking the opening lead 10:13 into the game on Anthony Lucarelli’s goal, coming on a setup pass out front from Turner Richards. Just 16 seconds later, Noah Eyre rushed in down the right wing and snapped a low shot to the glove side past Owen Millward to double the lead.
Wenatchee trimmed the lead to a goal 1:33 into the second period on an odd carom off the Zamboni door in the corner — the puck bounced out in front of the net just above the goal line, where Littler was waiting to tap in the open chance and cut the lead to 2-1.
Powell River surged the rest of the way in the second period, starting with a chance from Ryder Ringor in the low slot on the power play — with Ean Somoza in the penalty box on a slashing call, Ringor’s chance sneaked through at 11:09 of the second to stretch the lead back to two goals. Fifty-nine seconds later, Lucarelli hit Marcus Dashevsky in transition, who dangled the puck to his backhand side before tossing it into the net and pushing the score to 4-1.
That ended Millward’s night, but Jack Blanchett hit Caleb Bentham in transition as Bentham exited the penalty box, and and Bentham carried the puck the rest of the way before sliding it in for a 5-1 Powell River lead with 2:42 remaining in the second.
Then, the comeback began — with Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero in the box serving a slashing call of his own, Somoza fired a shot inside the back post to trim the lead to 5-2 under a minute out of the intermission. Jason Stefanek and Arvega Hovsepyan teamed up on a 2-on-1 only 38 seconds after that to cut the lead to 5-3, with Hovsepyan finishing the play for his first BCHL goal.
Just 10 seconds into a power play on a Will Jones roughing call, Littler turned from the left-wing faceoff circle to jam a chance past Metson and trim the lead back to a goal. With the extra attacker on the ice, Garrett Szydlowski won a scramble in front of the net with 5.5 seconds remaining, tying the game before Littler’s dramatic winner on the opening shift of overtime.
Littler’s hat trick was his third in a Wild uniform, and he would add two assists to his haul as well. Somoza posted a goal and an assist, earning a point in his seventh straight game to set a new season-high. Vlaha earned the win in relief, his first victory since the Thanksgiving weekend.
Bulldogs Post Pair On Penalty Kill As Alberni Valley Wins Saturday, 4-1
PORT ALBERNI, British Columbia — Friday night, the Wenatchee Wild had the comeback in them that it needed to knock off the Powell River Kings in overtime. Saturday night at Alberni Valley, that comeback bid never materialized.
The Bulldogs scored a pair of shorthanded goals, earning their fourth consecutive win with a 4-1 victory over the Wild, despite a strong start for the visitors.
Wenatchee posted six of the first seven shots on goal in the contest, but Alberni Valley flipped the script after that, posting 18 of the next 19 shots in the contest. One of those hit the back of the net, as Dakota MacIntosh skated in for a backhand goal on the breakaway, beating Andy Vlaha on his stick side with 8:06 left in the first period.
A high-sticking call against Owen Desilets early in the second period did not deter the Bulldogs, as Brandon Buhr jogged in for a 2-on-1 goal to put the Bulldogs ahead by a pair 3:48 into the second. Likewise, the Wild were not deterred by the two-goal gap, as Parker Murray skated down the left-wing boards before rifling a wrist shot to the back post past Hobie Hedquist with 4:34 left on the clock.
The Wild had plenty of life with a one-goal gap to make up going to the third, but Ethan Bono pumped some more air into the home crowd 16 seconds out of the intermission, working the puck through Vlaha before giving it a final poke to push the Alberni Valley lead to 3-1. Cam Van Sickle scored the latter of the Bulldogs’ two shorthanded goals on the night, capitalizing on a 2-on-1 of his own just past the halfway mark of the final stanza.
Buhr had a goal and an assist, with his shorthanded marker in the second-period proving to be the eventual winner. Christian Kim and Lucas Marshall picked up assists on the only Wenatchee goal of the night. Ean Somoza saw a season-best seven-game point streak come to an end, tying a season-high for the team as well.
The penalty-killing units were exceptional in the game, each going a perfect 4-for-4. Hedquist made 29 saves, earning his 12th win of the season, while Vlaha took the loss in a 34-save performance.
Hats Fly For Wild Again Sunday As Caps Fall to Wenatchee, 4-1
DUNCAN, British Columbia — Wenatchee Wild forward Micah Berger came to town two months ago in search of additional playing time and a fresh start. Two months into his British Columbia Hockey League career, that start continues to be about as hot as it can be.
Berger took his run with the Wild to new heights Sunday, posting a natural hat trick in a 4-1 win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Wenatchee notched a season-best 54 shots on goal in the game, closing out the weekend with four of a possible six points on its visit to Vancouver Island.
The Wild posted 10 straight shots to start the game, and 22 of the 25 on the board in the opening stanza. It took until the final 3:07 of the opening period, though, and the 18th shot on goal in the game, for the Wild to break the seal on the Cowichan Valley net. Ean Somoza found Christian Kim on the post for a setup feed and a quick tap-in for the 1-0 lead.
The next reward came even more quickly, when Jason Stefanek found Berger on the doorstep for a toss to the top half of the net, putting Wenatchee in front 2-0 going to the second period.
A long rebound found Berger in the right place for his second goal of the game, as Kim fired off a shot from the right wing after entering the Capitals’ zone 3-on-2. His rebound caromed long off the pad of Lukas Renaud, where Berger was waiting to bang in the second chance with just over nine minutes left in the second period.
One night after the Wild were stung by a goal 16 seconds into the third period, it shared the feeling with their hosts — just 13 seconds out of the break, Cade Littler slid a pass along the goal line to Berger, who jammed in his chance for a third goal to put the Wild in front, 4-0.
Goaltender Andy Vlaha would be denied the shutout, though, allowing a single goal from Cole Melady as he drove the puck down the left-wing boards and pitched in a forehand chance with 11:51 to play.
Berger tied a career-best with his three points and notched his fourth game-winning goal of the year, while Kim posted a goal and an assist and Vlaha made 19 saves to earn his seventh win. The penalty-killing units were perfect in a limited sample, with the teams combining to kill off all three power plays in the game.
Wenatchee bumped its record to 15-16-1-2 for the year, while Cowichan Valley dropped to 7-23-1-2 after grabbing three of four available points earlier in the weekend.
The Wild open up another busy week Wednesday night with a 6 p.m. matchup at home against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Live coverage is available Wednesday night on Newsradio 560 KPQ and BCHL TV.
Wenatchee also welcomes the Prince George Spruce Kings Saturday night for a pivotal Hockey Fights Cancer matchup, including a specialty jersey auction to benefit the E.A.S.E. Cancer Foundation.
These recaps have been slightly edited for clarity.