Flawless Finish on Special Teams Sends Wild to 9-1 Win at Kelowna Saturday
Photo Courtesy: Steve Dunsmoor/Kelowna Rockets
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KELOWNA, British Columbia – The Wenatchee Wild are headed for their “happy holidays” as a very happy group.
One day after coming up nearly perfect on special teams against the Western Hockey League-leading Everett Silvertips, the Wild had a flawless finish in a 9-1 rout of the Kelowna Rockets in a Saturday matinee at Prospera Place, nearly “grinching” the Rockets in their annual Teddy Bear Toss game. Shaun Rios turned his first multi-goal game in the WHL into his first career hat trick, while Evan Friesen set a new career high with five points, and Kenta Isogai tied a career-best with five points of his own.
Wenatchee led from the 3:13 mark on, thanks to crisscross passing and a backdoor power play goal from Luka Shcherbyna. Isogai made it 2-0 with 7:50 remaining in the period, hammering home a one-timer off a setup pass from Brendan Dunphy. Miles Cooper ended a goal-line scramble by pushing in another power play goal with 2:39 to play in the period, only 19 seconds into Wenatchee’s second power play of the night on a kneeing call to Kelowna’s Kalder Varga.
Already up 3-0 going to the dressing room, Rios scored the first of his goals on the rush at 4:57 of the second period, roofing a shot from the middle of the slot. Eastyn Mannix heaved one from the right point that tunneled through to the net with 7:40 left in the period, and 29 seconds later, Rios punched in a one-timer from just inside the right faceoff circle to make it a 6-0 game.
After a roughing call to Rockets captain Max Graham, Friesen got into the mix with the third Wild power play goal, rushing in off a stretch pass to the Kelowna blue line and pitching the puck over Jake Pilon’s left shoulder with 56.9 seconds on the clock.
Kelowna would not be denied their opportunity to send bears in the air, though, getting a long-distance toss down the slot from Nate Corbet that beat Daniel Hauser 61 seconds into the third period. It was the only time the Rockets would solve him, though – Rios picked up a stretch pass at the Kelowna blue line and deposited it into the net at 7:47 of the third, and Isogai rattled the final goal just inside the cage with 9:37 to play.
“I take it back to last night’s game, where we really came together as a team with tough situations and a short schedule,” said assistant coach Dan Johnston. “Halfway through the game, we had some guys playing for each other, and you could see the camaraderie between the guys. They carried it into tonight, and it showed. The guys did a good job of focusing shift-to-shift.”
13 different Wild players posted at least one point in the game, including Hauser, who also made 40 saves to reset his season-high for the second consecutive night. His win was the sixth of his season and 102nd in his WHL career, moving him into a tie with Stanley Cup champion Cam Ward for 17th on the league’s all-time list. Rhett Stoesser took the loss for Kelowna with 18 saves, while Jake Pilon made 13 stops in relief for a no-decision. Wenatchee finished 3-for-3 on both the power play and penalty kill, marking its first perfect special-teams performance in more than a year, moving to 11-16-3-1 on the year. Kelowna dropped back to .500 at 13-13-2-1.
After the holiday break, Wenatchee returns with a visit to the Spokane Chiefs on Friday, December 27. The opening puck drop at Spokane Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m., with live coverage available on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live.
Wenatchee returns to home ice the following night for Margaritaville Night against the Spokane Chiefs, presented by Riverside Payments. Tickets for that game and all regular-season home games are on sale now by phone at 509-888-7825, online here or by visiting the team office at Town Toyota Center. Updated news and information on Wild hockey are always available through the team’s website and on the team’s social media platforms on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
Wenatchee 3 4 2 – 9
Kelowna 0 0 1 – 1
1st Period-1, Wenatchee, Shcherbyna 7 (Friesen, Isogai), 3:13 (PP). 2, Wenatchee, Isogai 12 (Dunphy, Friesen), 12:50. 3, Wenatchee, Cooper 12 (Friesen, Andresen), 17:21 (PP). Penalties-Gillespie Kel (holding), 2:17; Varga Kel (kneeing), 17:02.
2nd Period-4, Wenatchee, Rios 8 (Andresen, Friesen), 4:57. 5, Wenatchee, Mannix 4 (Reid, Davis), 12:20. 6, Wenatchee, Rios 9 (Isogai), 12:49. 7, Wenatchee, Friesen 12 (McCloskey, Hauser), 19:03 (PP). Penalties-Pankey Wen (high sticking), 2:28; Graham Kel (roughing), 17:46.
3rd Period-8, Kelowna, Corbet 4 (Gojsic, Cristall), 1:01. 9, Wenatchee, Rios 10 (Isogai), 7:47. 10, Wenatchee, Isogai 13 (Rios, McCagherty), 10:23. Penalties-Corbet Kel (10-minute misconduct), 10:23; Dunphy Wen (interference), 11:42; McCagherty Wen (tripping), 18:40.
Shots on Goal-Wenatchee 12-20-8-40. Kelowna 9-15-17-41.
Power Play Opportunities-Wenatchee 3 / 3; Kelowna 0 / 3.
Goalies-Wenatchee, Hauser 7-8-2-1 (41 shots-40 saves). Kelowna, Stoesser 4-5-1-1 (24 shots-18 saves); Pilon 7-3-1-1 (16 shots-13 saves).
A-4,716
Referees-Brandon Koop (23), Mark Pearce (5).
Linesmen-Tom Donaldson (176), Zach Anderson (160).
