Three-Goal First Period Sends Wenatchee to 4-2 Win Friday, 10th Straight Home Victory
Photo Courtesy: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild
GAME BOXSCORE | WATCH ON CHL TV
WENATCHEE, Wash. – The best Black Friday deal in the Wenatchee Valley was on first-period goals at Town Toyota Center: three for the price of one.
The Wenatchee Wild allowed an early power play goal against the Spokane Chiefs, but quickly got it back and added two more in the opening stanza on the way to a 4-2 Western Hockey League victory, their 10th straight on home ice. They did it in front of a crowd of 3,978, the largest home crowd for the Wild since they joined the WHL during the offseason.
The early power play goal came on a Berkly Catton one-timer from the right faceoff dot 2:07 into the game, 45 seconds into the Chiefs’ first power play. 80 seconds later, Matthew Savoie erased Spokane’s only lead of the night, scoring in transition on a one-timer from Conor Geekie.
The lead went to Wenatchee for good at the 6:06 mark of the first, when Karter Prosofsky tapped in a one-timer from Luka Shcherbyna at the back post. Savoie returned the favor on Geekie’s early assist by feeding him for a transition goal, as Geekie hit the top corner of the net with 1:41 remaining in the period to make it 3-1 at the intermission.
Spokane got the lead down to one with another power play goal from Catton, connecting on a one-timer from just beyond the right-wing dot with 2:42 remaining in the second period. The Wild defended that one-goal lead for much of the third period, until Hayden Moore sneaked a shot between Cooper Michaluk and the left post with 5:20 remaining to put the hosts ahead by a final two-goal margin.
“We talked about our starts. The last couple of games, we got off to a bit of a slow start,” said associate head coach Chris Clark. “We definitely got off to a better start tonight, and then in the second period, I thought we weren’t as sharp and we let them back into it with a late power play goal. The guys battled hard in the third and got another two huge points.”
Geekie, Savoie and Moore all finished with a goal and an assist for Wenatchee, while Catton had both goals and Brayden Crampton had both primary assists for the Chiefs in the loss. Spokane’s power play finished perfect for the night, picking up goals on both power plays and holding off the Wild in their only penalty kill.
Brendan Gee made 30 saves to pick up his fourth straight win and sixth of the year, while Michaluk stopped 31 Wenatchee shots in the loss. The Wild bumped their record to 16-8-2-0 on the year, while Spokane was denied a chance to get to .500, slipping to 8-10-2-0.
Another four-game week is ahead for the Wild this week, starting with a Wednesday night road trip to Kelowna to face the Rockets – the opening puck drop at Prospera Place is slated for 7 p.m., with live coverage available on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live. Wenatchee’s Teddy Bear Toss against Portland, presented by Fred Meyer, is up next on the home schedule on Friday. Tickets for that game and all home regular-season contests are on sale now 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, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Spokane 1 1 0 – 2
Wenatchee 3 0 1 – 4
1st Period-1, Spokane, Catton 12 (Crampton, Martin), 2:07 (PP). 2, Wenatchee, Savoie 6 (Geekie, Isogai), 3:27. 3, Wenatchee, Prosofsky 3 (Shcherbyna, Moore), 6:06. 4, Wenatchee, Geekie 14 (Savoie), 18:19. Penalties-Friesen Wen (tripping), 1:22.
2nd Period-5, Spokane, Catton 13 (Crampton, Roulette), 17:18 (PP). Penalties-Parr Spo (roughing), 5:04; Prosofsky Wen (roughing), 5:04; Sward Wen (interference), 15:37.
3rd Period-6, Wenatchee, Moore 4 (Bukarts, Sward), 14:40. Penalties-Catton Spo (tripping), 10:14; Cheveldayoff Spo (10-minute misconduct), 20:00; Cumby Wen (10-minute misconduct), 20:00.
Shots on Goal-Spokane 8-11-13-32. Wenatchee 13-14-8-35.
Power Play Opportunities-Spokane 2 / 2; Wenatchee 0 / 1.
Goalies-Spokane, Michaluk 5-4-1-0 (35 shots-31 saves). Wenatchee, Gee 6-2-0-0 (32 shots-30 saves).
A-3,978
Referees-Trevor Nolan, Jake Podann (8).
Linesmen-Nathan Howes (90), Brennan Walker (143).
