Shcherbyna Scores Two, Tverznik Stops 60 as Everett Snags 4-3 Shootout Win Saturday
EVERETT, Wash. – The Everett Silvertips poured the pressure on the Wenatchee Wild in the Western Hockey League season opener for both teams Saturday night at Angel of the Winds Arena. Through it all, Tobias Tvrznik was nearly good enough to will his team to a win anyway.
Wenatchee’s Czech import goaltender tied a 29-year-old franchise record with 60 saves, as the Wild opened the 2025-26 campaign with a 4-3 shootout loss to the defending WHL regular-season champions. In order to take the two points, Everett had to battle back from a 3-0 deficit after Wenatchee cranked out two power play goals in the first period, and snagged another one from Luka Shcherbyna at even strength early in the second.
Landon DuPont’s tripping call at 1:26 led to the first Wild power play of the season, and Dawson Seitz began the scoring for the season by sending a shot through the traffic at the net at 2:27 of the opening period. Mirco Dufour’s hooking infraction with 2:09 left in the period ended the same way – this time, Seitz helped set up Wenatchee’s second power play goal of the night, with Mason Kraft hitting Shcherbyna for a snipe from the right-wing faceoff dot with 1:39 left in the period.
With a 2-0 Wild lead already in hand, Kraft found Shcherbyna again in the opening minutes of the second, feeding the puck to the back post for Shcherbyna to punch in just 1:55 out of the intermission. The three-goal lead held until the 14:15 mark of the period, when Zackary Shantz scraped in a second chance, cutting the lead to 3-1. Shantz would strike twice in the third period, dragging a forehand shot through at 1:49, and tying the game off a backdoor feed to the net at the 7:06 mark.
Tvrznik stopped all six Silvertips chances in overtime, but Nolan Chastko’s marker in the sixth round of the shootout was the difference-maker. Kraft and Shcherbyna scored in the second and third rounds of the shootout for the Wild, while Matias Vanhanen and Shantz did the same for the Silvertips on their second- and third-round shots.
Kraft finished the night with three assists, leading all Wenatchee scorers. Shcherbyna added two goals and Seitz tacked an assist on to his power play goal. Jesse Heslop had two assists for Everett, in addition to Shantz’s natural hat trick.
Wenatchee’s power play got off to an impressive start, going 2-for-5 and scoring on its first two man-advantages of the season. Everett finished the game at 1-for-4 with the extra man, and finished with a 41-29 edge at the faceoff dot.
Raiden LeGall opened his season with a win behind 25 saves, but Tvrznik’s stat line was the headliner, marking the first 60-save performance for the WHL club since Tim Winters set the original mark in a 1996 Edmonton ICE game against the Portland Winterhawks. 23 of Tvrznik’s saves came in the third period alone.
Wenatchee opens its season with a 0-0-0-1 mark, and will follow Saturday’s tilt with its own home opener against the Silvertips, presented by Town Toyota, this coming Saturday. The opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center is slated for 6 p.m. – tickets for
Single-game tickets are now available for all 34 Wenatchee Wild home dates this year, and 2025-26 season tickets also remain 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 2 1 0 0 – 3
Everett 0 1 2 0 – 4
1st Period-1, Wenatchee, Dawson Seitz 1 (Toll, Kraft), 2:27 (PP). 2, Wenatchee, Shcherbyna 1 (Kraft, Dawson Seitz), 18:21 (PP). Penalties-DuPont Evt (tripping), 1:26; Dufour Evt (hooking), 17:51; Rios Wen (hooking), 19:07.
2nd Period-3, Wenatchee, Shcherbyna 2 (Kraft), 1:55. 4, Everett, Shantz 1 (Heslop, Temple), 14:15 (PP). Penalties-Joudrey Wen (cross checking), 4:15; Dawson Seitz Wen (roughing), 8:08; Temple Evt (slashing), 8:08; Kaplan Evt (slashing), 8:26; served by Joudrey Wen (too many men), 12:41; Andre Wen (major-fighting), 15:12; Ament Evt (10-minute misconduct, major-fighting), 15:12; Shantz Evt (closing hand on puck), 15:42.
3rd Period-5, Everett, Shantz 2 (Fisher, Kaplan), 1:49. 6, Everett, Shantz 3 (Heslop, Seidl), 7:06. Penalties-Vanhanen Evt (delay of game), 11:34; Capos Wen (roughing), 14:18; Schaefer Evt (roughing), 14:18; Capos Wen (hooking), 17:43.
OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties
Shootout – Wenatchee 2 (Seitz NG, Kraft G, Shcherbyna G, Toll NG, Rios NG, Andre NG), Everett 3 (Liske NG, Vanhanen G, Shantz G, Jamieson NG, Temple NG, Chastko G).
Shots on Goal-Wenatchee 10-8-8-2-0-28. Everett 11-21-25-6-1-64.
Power Play Opportunities-Wenatchee 2 / 5; Everett 1 / 4.
Goalies-Wenatchee, Tvrznik 0-0-0-1 (63 shots-60 saves). Everett, LeGall 1-0-0-0 (28 shots-25 saves).
A-6,279
Referees-Mike Campbell (89), Kacey Walker (28).
Linesmen-Brayden Cameron (127), Brennan Walker (143).
