Friesen Scores Twice Saturday, but Prince George Takes 5-3 Decision
Photo Courtesy: Brian Johnson/Kamloops Blazers
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PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia – When the Wenatchee Wild have needed big goals of late, they’ve been able to count on Evan Friesen to come through in the clutch. At CN Centre Saturday, down 3-1 going to the third period, they needed two…and they got them.
Friesen tallied two goals for Wenatchee, his third multi-goal effort in his last four, but Borya Valis broke a 3-3 tie with 3:52 left to send the Prince George Cougars to a 5-3 victory in the final game between the teams this season. The win was Prince George’s ninth in its last 10 games, keeping the Cougars ahead of the Victoria Royals in the hunt for a B.C. Division championship.
Prince George capitalized on its first two power play chances, starting with a Koehn Ziemmer turnaround from the edge of the low slot six minutes into the game. Wenatchee tied things up with 6:29 to go in the period, when Shaun Rios found Dawson Seitz on the left wing in transition, and Seitz added a split-second delay to his shot from the left-wing circle, zipping a wrist shot by Cooper Michaluk on his glove side.
The second power play goal for the Cougars came with 1:14 to go in the period, when Ziemmer hit Viliam Kmec for a back-door one-timer just above the crease to put the hosts ahead at the break. Matteo Danis put the Cougars ahead 3-1 at the 6:39 mark of the second, tossing a shot through from the right half, above the faceoff circles.
Friesen’s time to shine came in the third – Miles Cooper’s shot from the right wing bounced off of Michaluk and out in front of the traffic at the net. Michaluk lunged to smother the puck, but Friesen’s quick snap darted by at 8:15, cutting the Prince George lead to a goal. The Wenatchee captain stationed himself low in the slot for an Eastyn Mannix toss from the left point at 12:21, banking off of his stick and in to even the game at 3-3.
Prince George’s tiebreaking goal came on a pass to the doorstep from Carson Carels, with Valis sweeping the puck around Brendan Gee and in to put the Cougars ahead for a final time. Aiden Foster ended the scoring with a toss into the empty Wenatchee net from center ice with a second to play.
In addition to Friesen’s two-goal game, Rios ended the night with a pair of assists, extending his point streak to five straight games. He becomes the first Wenatchee player this season with three separate five-goal point-scoring runs this year. The Wild bumped up their power play mark again, finishing 1-for-4 with the extra man. Prince George went 2-for-5, picking up four assists from Riley Heidt, and three from Carels. Ziemmer also earned a goal and an assist in the game.
Gee took the loss, making 29 saves as the Wild moved to 23-35-7-1 on the season, three points back of Seattle with two games to play. Michaluk earned his eighth win of the season as the Cougars notched their 40th win of the year, bumping their record to 40-20-4-2 with two home games to go. Seattle and Victoria head out of the evening with two games in hand on the Wild and Cougars, respectively.
Wenatchee plays its final road game of the regular season Friday at the Everett Silvertips, with the opening puck drop at Angel of the Winds Arena scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Live coverage is available on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live. The Wild will return from a five-game road stretch next Saturday, with their Fantastic Fan-Ale against the Silvertips, presented by Ag Supply.
2025-26 season tickets are now on sale – for more information, call 509-888-7825, or visit 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 1 0 2 – 3
Prince George 2 1 2 – 5
1st Period-1, Prince George, Ziemmer 36 (Heidt, Carels), 6:00 (PP). 2, Wenatchee, Dawson Seitz 17 (Rios), 13:31. 3, Prince George, Kmec 18 (Ziemmer, Heidt), 18:46 (PP). Penalties-Dunphy Wen (high sticking), 4:50; Vaillant Wen (tripping), 17:43; Ziemmer Pg (inter. on goaltender), 19:17.
2nd Period-4, Prince George, Danis 15 (Carels), 6:39. Penalties-McCloskey Wen (tripping), 1:26; Cooper Wen (roughing), 9:42; Lajoie Pg (roughing), 9:42; Ziemmer Pg (delay of game), 18:28; Danis Pg (delay of game), 20:00.
3rd Period-5, Wenatchee, Friesen 31 (Cooper, Rios), 8:15 (PP). 6, Wenatchee, Friesen 32 (Mannix, Tansem), 12:21. 7, Prince George, Valis 34 (Carels, Heidt), 16:08. 8, Prince George, Foster 10 (Heidt), 19:59 (EN). Penalties-Vaillant Wen (holding), 4:58; Anisimov Pg (roughing), 8:02; Shcherbyna Wen (hooking), 17:20.
Shots on Goal-Wenatchee 13-6-11-30. Prince George 6-14-14-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Wenatchee 1 / 4; Prince George 2 / 5.
Goalies-Wenatchee, Gee 11-15-2-0 (33 shots-29 saves). Prince George, Michaluk 8-8-1-1 (30 shots-27 saves).
A-5,600
Referees-Jarrod Lucoe (43), Jesse Wood-Schatz (21).
Linesmen-Caden Fanshaw (164), Tyler Garden (149).
