Moose Jaw Claws Out 4-2 Win at Wenatchee Friday

GAME BOXSCORE

WENATCHEE, Wash. – What a difference a few minutes can make.

After 16 minutes of hockey that saw the Wenatchee Wild and Moose Jaw Warriors combine for just five shots on goal, the teams found their footing and turned the final minutes of the first period into a fast and furious frenzy. The teams combined for four goals in a span of just 2:18, and the Moose Jaw Warriors opened their six-game U.S. Division road trip Friday with a 4-2 win at Town Toyota Center.

With 3:51 remaining in the first period, Steven Steranka took off down the left wing and slapped a shot to the top corner of the cage over Tobias Tvrznik’s left shoulder to put the Warriors ahead, 1-0. Wenatchee’s response didn’t take long – with 3:25 left in the period, Riley Bassen won a faceoff back to Josh Toll on the left point, who tossed the puck past Kyle Jones to tie the contest.

The game turned in Moose Jaw’s favor in a span of 20 seconds – Steranka found Connor Schmidt for a backdoor one-timer from the left-wing dot with 1:53 remaining in the first period to grab the lead, and Ethan Semeniuk’s shot with 1:33 on the clock found its way over Tvrznik and a pair of Wild players standing guard at the net.

Wenatchee quickly turned a two-goal deficit into a one-goal gap out of the intermission, as Aiden Grossklaus pitched a shot off the glass and just out front of the crossbar, allowing Mathias Silaban to bat the puck out of mid-air and into the net at the 15-second mark and drop the Moose Jaw lead to 3-2.

Try as they might, Wenatchee never found the tying goal – the Wild rattled off 16 more shots in the second and 16 in the third, but came up empty the rest of the way. Casey Brown won a footrace down the right wing and slid the puck into the empty net to seal the outcome with 1:24 left. Wenatchee out-shot the visitors 41-33, and won the duel at the faceoff dot 33-21, but were held without a lead in the game. The Wild fell to 15-22-1-1 with the loss, while Moose Jaw improved to 15-19-3-1 ahead of a visit to Tri-City Saturday.

Bassen had the only multi-point showing for Wenatchee with a pair of assists, his third multi-point game since joining the Wild at the Christmas break, and went 15-for-21 at the faceoff dot. Brown led the Moose Jaw offense with a goal and two assists, and Schmidt and Steranka tallied a goal and an assist apiece. Kyle Jones earned his fifth win of the season with 39 saves, while Tvrznik took the loss in a 30-save performance. The penalty kills were each perfect on three chances.

Next up for Wenatchee is a home-and-home set with the Vancouver Giants Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s game at Langley Events Centre is slated for a 7 p.m. puck drop, with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+. The Wild return home Sunday for a 4 p.m. puck drop and the team’s Outdoorsman’s Night, including a full team poster signing following the game.

Tickets for Sunday’s 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.

Moose Jaw 3 0 1 – 4
Wenatchee 1 1 0 – 2

1st Period-1, Moose Jaw, Steven Steranka 4 (Schmidt, Brown), 16:09. 2, Wenatchee, Toll 3 (Bassen), 16:35. 3, Moose Jaw, Schmidt 12 (Steven Steranka, Brown), 18:07. 4, Moose Jaw, Semeniuk 10 (McKenzie), 18:27. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-5, Wenatchee, Silaban 5 (Grossklaus, Bassen), 0:15. Penalties-Thorpe Mj (roughing), 1:45; Vaillant Wen (roughing), 1:45; Steven Steranka Mj (roughing), 12:22; Bassen Wen (slashing), 12:22; Kraft Wen (hooking), 13:30; Shcherbyna Wen (hooking), 15:44; McKenzie Mj (cross checking), 16:33; Nagel Mj (major-fighting, game misconduct), 16:51; Andre Wen (major-fighting, game misconduct), 16:51.

3rd Period-6, Moose Jaw, Brown 9   18:36 (EN). Penalties-Brown Mj (slashing), 8:41; Toll Wen (holding), 10:06; Ziprick Mj (holding), 14:52.

Shots on Goal-Moose Jaw 12-12-9-33. Wenatchee 8-17-16-41.
Power Play Opportunities-Moose Jaw 0 / 3; Wenatchee 0 / 3.
Goalies-Moose Jaw, Jones 5-8-2-1 (41 shots-39 saves). Wenatchee, Tvrznik 11-14-0-1 (32 shots-29 saves).
Referees-Josh Albinati (25), Mike Langin (67).
Linesmen-Zach Anderson (160), Cody Wanner (56).