Tait, Tvrznik Headline 3-2 Wenatchee Victory at Calgary Sunday
CALGARY, Alberta – Scotiabank Saddledome is proving to be a special place for Wenatchee Wild players to achieve career milestones.
Two years ago, Caelan Joudrey scored his first Western Hockey League goal in front of his hometown fans, helping his team snag an overtime win against the Calgary Hitmen. Sunday, he made his 100th WHL appearance, Wenatchee defenseman Boston Tait netted his first WHL goal, and Kalen Miles notched his first point in the league as part of a 3-2 Wild victory over the Hitmen on the home club’s 30th annual Teddy Bear Toss night. Tobias Tvrznik made 46 saves as Wenatchee held their hosts without a goal until the final 7:05, the latest Teddy Bear Toss goal in franchise history.
The teams battled through a scoreless first period before Tait fired a shot past Eric Tu from the left wing at the 2:37 mark of the second – his shot clanked off the back bar at the top of the cage, with nary a ripple of the net or a sign of the red light. Referee Nick Albinati was stationed directly on the goal line and immediately signaled the goal, giving the Wild the 1-0 lead.
Miles earned his assist just 86 seconds later off a faceoff win in the Calgary zone – his stick nicked the puck on the draw, bouncing it onto the stick of Luka Shcherbyna, who swept it by Tu for a 2-0 advantage.
The Hitmen stacked up offensive zone time in the third, out-shooting Wenatchee 17-4 over the game’s final 20 minutes. The edge was at 13-3 when Ethan Moore took a pass from Andrei Molgachev and twirled a forehand shot over Tvrznik at the front of the net. His marker sent the teddy bears flying at 12:55 of the third, with the shot count sitting at 45-23.
After a half-hour delay, Wenatchee picked up right where it left off – an outlet pass from Tait found its way to Zane Torre, who lasered the puck past Tu and into the top corner of the net with 5:42 to play, rebuilding the two-goal lead. Molgachev nudged the puck past Tvrznik with 23.3 seconds to play, but Calgary never potted the tying goal.
Tait registered his second career multi-point game, while Shcherbyna became the first Wenatchee player to reach the 20-point mark this season. Tvrznik’s 46 saves was his second-most in a game this season, behind his record-tying 60-save showing in the season opener against Everett. The Wild went 1-for-3 with the extra man, posting a power play goal for the fifth straight game and eighth in their last 10.
Molgachev and Moore assisted on each other’s goals for Calgary, who wrapped up 1-for-4 on the power play, and Tu took the loss behind 21 saves. Wenatchee earned its second road win on the year and bumped its overall mark to 10-15-1-1, while Calgary fell to 14-9-3-1.
The Wild return to home ice this Friday for their Ugly Sweater Night against the Tri-City Americans, presented by Dick’s Heating & Air Conditioning. Friday’s game is also a Kids in Free night thanks to the support of Native Network. Friday’s opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center is slated for 7 p.m.
Tickets for Friday’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.
Wenatchee 0 2 1 – 3
Calgary 0 0 2 – 2
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Gorzynski Cgy (holding), 3:36; Dawson Seitz Wen (interference), 4:01; Moore Cgy (slashing), 4:01; Fluker Wen (hooking), 7:56; Wedman Wen (interference), 19:28; Zane Saab Wen (10-minute misconduct), 20:00; Gorzynski Cgy (10-minute misconduct), 20:00; Lodewyk Cgy (checking from behind), 20:00.
2nd Period-1, Wenatchee, Tait 1 (Rolsing), 2:37 (PP). 2, Wenatchee, Shcherbyna 13 (Miles), 4:03. Penalties-MacBeath Cgy (cross checking), 0:54; Vanek Wen (tripping), 10:40.
3rd Period-3, Calgary, Moore 9 (Molgachev, MacBeath), 12:55 (PP). 4, Wenatchee, Torre 2 (Tait, Fluker), 14:18. 5, Calgary, Molgachev 10 (Hamilton, Moore), 19:36. Penalties-Dawson Seitz Wen (kneeing), 11:23; Elliott Wen (roughing), 16:09.
Shots on Goal-Wenatchee 9-11-4-24. Calgary 10-21-17-48.
Power Play Opportunities-Wenatchee 1 / 3; Calgary 1 / 4.
Goalies-Wenatchee, Tvrznik 7-10-0-1 (48 shots-46 saves). Calgary, Tu 9-7-2-0 (24 shots-21 saves).
A-16,538
Referees-Josh Albinati (25), Kevin Webinger (6).
Linesmen-Marcus Gerow (139), Josh Meier (107).
