RECAP: Americans (3) @ Wild (2) – January 19, 2025
Wenatchee, WA – The Tri-City Americans (22-16-3-1) saw their 3-0 lead dropped to 3-2 against the Wenatchee Wild (16-22-3-1) Sunday night, but back-to-back penalty kills and a number of key shot blocks late in regulation led the Americans to a 3-2 win on the road.
Cruz Pavao got the Americans off and running early in the first period. After Cash Koch and Max Curran were denied by Brendan Gee, Pavao jumped on a loose puck in the crease and jammed home his sixth of the season 4:32 into the game.
Six minutes later Tri-City extended their lead on a wonderful play by Jake Sloan. A hard shot from the slot by the Wild snuck under the arm of Lukas Matecha and was sitting in the blue paint. Sloan swooped in behind him and chopped the puck away from the goal line, sending the Americans up ice.
As they gained the Wenatchee line, Carter MacAdams cut across the slot and dropped the puck back to Sloan who was hustling back up ice. He took the pass and fired a shot past the glove of Gee for his 14th goal of the season.
The goal came 10:13 into the game and saw Alex Garrett replace Gee in goal.
Wenatchee had a number of looks from the slot over the remainder of the period, but Tri-City took their 2-0 lead into the intermission.
The Wild continued to push in the second, outshooting the Americans 15-7, but Matecha stood his ground to hold the 2-0 lead into the third period.
Savin Virk extended the lead four minutes into the third. A long shot by Jackson Smith was heading toward Garrett, and Virk was able to get his stick on it before it got to the Wenatchee goaltender.
That caused a rebound to pop up into the air and Virk was able to bat it into the goal for his seventh of the season to put Tri-City ahead 3-0.
Wenatchee started their comeback with a power play shortly after Virk made it 3-0. Just five seconds into a man advantage Reid Andresen let a long shot go through traffic, cutting the lead to 3-1.
Less than a minute after the goal, Shaun Rios deflected in a shot which the Americans thought was knocked down with a high stick. The officials reviewed the play, but the goal stood as the Wild scored twice in 56 seconds to make it a one-goal game.
The score remained 3-2 throughout the third period, and the Americans penalty kill had to come up huge late in the game. Virk was given a throwing the stick penalty when he scooped up a dropped stick and flipped it to Terrell Goldsmith who had dropped his.
Tri-City successfully killed off the penalty but 34 seconds after Virk stepped out of the box, Curran was called for closing his hand on the puck, sending the Wild back to the power play with 4:32 to play.
On the ensuing kill Brandon Whynott blocked a number of point shots by the Wild, laying out to preserve his team’s one-goal lead.
The Americans survived the late power play, and fended off Wenatchee’s 6-on-5 sequence with the net empty for the extra attacker, holding on for a 3-2 victory. The win snapped the Americans five-game losing streak.
Tri-City now has the week off until they begin another 3-in-3 weekend, starting Friday night on the road against the Portland Winterhawks (25-16-2-1).