Tri-City Escapes Town Toyota Center with 4-3 Overtime Win Saturday
WENATCHEE, Wash. – Games between the Wenatchee Wild and Tri-City Americans have a habit of being heart-stopping affairs.
The teams had played seven straight games to a one- or two-goal finish before their last get-together in Kennewick on December 13, when the Ams left their home ice with a 4-1 victory. The two foes may have started a new streak Saturday, after Tri-City dashed out of the Wenatchee Valley with a 4-3 overtime win – Dylan LeBret slipped the puck past Tobias Tvrznik with 5.6 seconds to play in the extra session, completing a comeback that began with the Wild ahead 3-0 at the game’s midway point.
One night after the Kamloops Blazers got off to a roaring start of their own at Town Toyota Center, it was the Wild who had the hot hand in the early minutes – Grady Wedman banged home a second chance off an initial right-wing shot from Daniel Vaillant just 3:55 out of the gate. The hosts brought a two-goal lead to the dressing room following a takeaway in the Wenatchee half of the rink – that led to a 2-on-1 break, as Nolan Caffey out-waited a Tri-City defender and swung the puck across the slot for a Zane Torre one-timer with 8:07 on the first-period clock.
Patient passing on the power play helped Levi Benson find Caelan Joudrey on the goal line for a power play marker at 9:46 of the second – after receiving a pass through the left-wing circle, Joudrey pivoted and pitched the puck off the roof of the net to beat Ryan Grout and move the lead to 3-0.
With 7:20 to go in the period, Savin Virk intercepted a clearing attempt from the Wenatchee end and threw it into an open net from the Wild blue line, trimming the lead to 3-1. Two more goals in the third period finished the Tri-City comeback – Virk found Jake Gudelj for a backdoor one-timer at the net at 6:24, while Charlie Elick sent a shot past Tvrznik from the top of the right-wing circle at 8:02.
The teams swooped and probed for much of the overtime period, but with time winding down, the Ams drove the puck down the left wing and to the front of the Wild net – sprawled on his back, Tvrznik appeared to have the puck hidden underneath him, but in the crowd, it would meander over the line and settle in the back of the cage just seconds before the overtime period expired, sealing the comeback victory for the Americans.
Virk led the way with a goal and two assists, while Gudelj and LeBret each ended the night with a goal and an assist. Tvrznik was tagged for the loss despite making 26 saves, while Grout held on for his seventh win behind 34 stops.
The Wild enjoyed success on both ends of the special teams game, going 1-for-4 on the power play and killing Tri-City’s only power play of the evening. Tri-City moved its record to 23-17-3-1, while Wenatchee picked up one point in the Western Conference standings, at 17-25-2-2 coming out of the weekend.
Wenatchee closes a four-game homestand Wednesday against the Brandon Wheat Kings, with a Wild Wednesday matchup presented by Domino’s. The opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center is set for 6 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+.
Tickets for Wednesday’s game and all regular-season Wild home games are on sale now by phone at 509-888-7825, 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.
Tri-City 0 1 2 1 – 4
Wenatchee 2 1 0 0 – 3
1st Period-1, Wenatchee, Wedman 6 (Vaillant), 3:55. 2, Wenatchee, Torre 5 (Caffey), 11:53. Penalties-Koch Tc (roughing, boarding), 1:40; Rolsing Wen (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 1:40; Vaillant Wen (interference), 17:47.
2nd Period-3, Wenatchee, Joudrey 11 (Benson, Toll), 9:46 (PP). 4, Tri-City, Virk 21 12:40. Penalties-Vanecek Tc (roughing), 9:25; Gudelj Tc (playing w/broken st.), 10:14; Adam Tc (cross checking), 16:07.
3rd Period-5, Tri-City, Gudelj 6 (Virk, LeBret), 6:24. 6, Tri-City, Elick 5 (Virk, Gudelj), 8:02. Penalties-No Penalties
OT Period-7, Tri-City, LeBret 5 (Dale, Garland), 4:55. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Tri-City 4-11-13-2-30. Wenatchee 14-15-7-1-37.
Power Play Opportunities-Tri-City 0 / 1; Wenatchee 1 / 4.
Goalies-Tri-City, Grout 7-8-3-0 (37 shots-34 saves). Wenatchee, Tvrznik 13-15-1-2 (30 shots-26 saves).
A-3,917
Referees-Brody McGrath (73), Mark Pearce (5).
Linesmen-Zach Anderson (160), Cody Wanner (56).
