Miles Earns First WHL Goal, Sends Fur Flying on Teddy Bear Toss as Wild Fall, 4-1
WENATCHEE, Wash. – In his first Western Hockey League home game Sunday afternoon, Wenatchee Wild forward Kalen Miles couldn’t “bear” the thought of not making a good first impression on the Wenatchee faithful.
Miles scored his first WHL goal with 1:56 left in the second period, sending the Town Toyota Center crowd into a frenzy and sending hundreds of stuffed toys flying in the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss promotion. That goal was one of a select few highlights at the offensive end for the Wild, though, as the league-leading Everett Silvertips hammered out 43 shots en route to a 4-1 victory. The Silvertips moved to 25-3-2-1 on the season, five points clear of the field in the WHL standings and nine points ahead of second-place Prince George in the Western Conference race. The Wild lost only their third home game in their last 11, dropping to 11-17-1-1 for the year.
A Zackary Shantz takeaway at the Everett blue line led to a Shantz breakaway and a backhand goal on the rush 78 seconds into the game, and the Silvertips struck early for the 1-0 lead. Wenatchee battled their visitors to a stalemate through the remainder of the first period, before Jaxsin Vaughan rattled a second-chance goal to the top of the cage on the power play at 6:04 of the second and put Everett ahead by two.
Though Everett held a sizable lead on the shot count throughout the game, the quality of Wenatchee’s scoring chances steadily improved through the second period, and the Wild struck gold in the final moments – Aiden Grossklaus found Miles at the doorstep to pound a chance past Anders Miller, and Miles earned his milestone moment to put the Wild back within a goal.
After an early intermission, Everett came out with fresh legs and responded with a goal from Brek Liske, who hurled home a wrist shot from the left point with 22.3 seconds remaining on the second-period clock to put the ‘Tips in front by two again. Shantz made a final return to the scoring column with 1:25 to go in the game, slinging the puck down ice from just inside the Everett blue line and into the empty Wenatchee net for a shorthanded goal.
Shantz added an assist to his haul for the day, while Miller notched his 12th win of the season behind a 25-save performance – Everett went 1-for-3 on the power play Sunday, and erased both Wenatchee chances on the man-advantage. Everett also finished with a 38-26 advantage at the faceoff dot, led by Rylan Gould’s 10-for-12 mark. Cal Conway was tagged for the Wenatchee loss, making 39 saves.
Two road games remain for the Wild before the Christmas break, starting with a visit to the Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday. Wenatchee heads home for the holidays after a Wednesday night visit to Everett this coming week. Tuesday’s opening puck drop at Accesso Showare Center in Kent is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with live coverage on 1340 The Hawk and Victory+. Wenatchee returns to home ice December 28 against the Spokane Chiefs on Margaritaville Night, presented by Journey Travel & Tours.
Tickets for that game and all regular-season Wild 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.
Everett 1 2 1 – 4
Wenatchee 0 1 0 – 1
1st Period-1, Everett, Shantz 13 1:18. Penalties-Andre Wen (hooking), 12:34.
2nd Period-2, Everett, Vaughan 10 (Shantz, Smith), 6:04 (PP). 3, Wenatchee, Miles 1 (GROHS-closs, Zane Saab), 18:04. 4, Everett, Gould 9 (Liske), 19:38. Penalties-Capos Wen (high sticking), 5:17; Vaughan Evt (major-fighting), 9:09; Osborne Wen (major-fighting), 9:09.
3rd Period-5, Everett, Shantz 14 18:35 (SH EN). Penalties-Uyeda Evt (hooking), 2:53; Zane Saab Wen (tripping), 7:37; Temple Evt (tripping), 17:03.
Shots on Goal-Everett 13-17-13-43. Wenatchee 7-10-9-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Everett 1 / 3; Wenatchee 0 / 2.
Goalies-Everett, Miller 12-3-0-0 (26 shots-25 saves). Wenatchee, Conway 3-6-1-0 (42 shots-39 saves).
A-2,603
Referees-Bryan Bourdon (45), Tatu Kunto (95).
Linesmen-Adam McMasters (166), Cameron Wetmore (114).
