Wenatchee Runs Away with 6-2 Win Saturday Over Kelowna
WENATCHEE, Wash. – With seven National Hockey League draft picks and a goaltender vying for a high pick in this summer’s NHL Draft, the Kelowna Rockets typically aren’t the kind of team to allow a Western Hockey League opponent a strong finish to the night.
One night after Kelowna finished off a home win against the Wenatchee Wild with five unanswered goals, the Wild returned the favor for a 6-2 Saturday night victory at Town Toyota Center. All five goals came in the third period, the third time this season that the Wild have posted five goals or more in a single period, and the first time since March 8, 2024 that the club wrapped up a game with five or more in the final stanza. The Wild and Rockets split the 2025-26 season series evenly, with the home team claiming all four games.
Zane Saab got Wenatchee in front first, driving the net and sliding the puck past Josh Banini 5:07 into the contest. With under two minutes to play in the first period, though, a toss from Rowan Guest at the left point clipped off of Ryan Oothoudt’s stick and past Tobias Tvrznik, tying the game at 1-1 before the break.
Kelowna took the lead for the only time just 37 seconds into the second, when Tij Iginla found Ty Halaburda out front for a snap off the roof of the cage and a 2-1 score. Wenatchee erased the one-goal advantage at 2:33 of the third, when Drew Smith’s sharp-angle chance from the right wing settled out front for Caelan Joudrey to pop into the top of the net.
At 6:06, Sam Elliott returned to the scoring column for the first time since November 1, jamming in the puck on a brief scramble near the net, following a net-front shot from Mathias Silaban that bounded out for Elliott to finish off. In only his second game back off an upper-body injury, Riley Bassen banged in a one-timer at the net from Silaban with 5:35 to play, extending the Wenatchee lead to 4-2.
The Wild extended the advantage two more times before the end of the night – Aiden Grossklaus connected with a top-shelf goal on a 2-on-1 with 2:48 to play, and Levi Benson found Smith on the right wing for his first WHL goal just 57 seconds later.
Elliott’s goal and two assists led all scorers, while Josh Toll earned three assists to pass the 40-assist plateau for the season. Silaban finished the evening with two assists, while Saab and Smith earned a goal and an assist apiece, and Tvrznik turned away 29 Kelowna shots for his 16th win of the season. Guest had the only multi-point game of the night for Kelowna, posting two assists of his own.
The Rockets did out-shoot their hosts 31-20, including eight of the first nine shots in the second period. Both teams finished 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, as Kelowna slipped to 33-19-5-2, remaining a point short of the Prince George Cougars in the battle for third place in the Western Conference standings. Wenatchee bumped its record to 23-31-3-2 on the year, matching its win total from 2024-25 with nine games still to be played.
Wenatchee wraps up the weekend at home on Sunday with its annual Pucks & Paws game presented by Stetner. Dog tickets are available for just five dollars, and Sunday’s matchup is also a Fred Meyer Sunday Funday and a Kids In Free game courtesy of CED. Sunday’s opening puck drop against the Everett Silvertips is slated for 4 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+.
Tickets for Sunday’s game and all remaining regular-season Wild home games, as well as 2026-27 season tickets, 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.
Kelowna 1 1 0 – 2
Wenatchee 1 0 5 – 6
1st Period-1, Wenatchee, Zane Saab 9 (Elliott, Toll), 5:07. 2, Kelowna, Oothoudt 3 (Guest, Paupanekis), 18:03. Penalties-Grossklaus Wen (holding), 7:24.
2nd Period-3, Kelowna, Halaburda 27 (Iginla, Guest), 0:37. Penalties-Vaillant Wen (hooking), 2:05; Banini Kel (interference), 6:26; Guest Kel (holding), 12:50.
3rd Period-4, Wenatchee, Joudrey 17 (Smith, Toll), 2:33. 5, Wenatchee, Elliott 4 (Silaban, Zane Saab), 6:06. 6, Wenatchee, Bassen 3 (Silaban, Elliott), 14:25. 7, Wenatchee, Grossklaus 13 (Toll), 17:12. 8, Wenatchee, Smith 1 (Benson, Shcherbyna), 18:09. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Kelowna 9-10-12-31. Wenatchee 5-5-10-20.
Power Play Opportunities-Kelowna 0 / 2; Wenatchee 0 / 2.
Goalies-Kelowna, Banini 11-10-2-1 (20 shots-14 saves). Wenatchee, Tvrznik 16-17-2-2 (31 shots-29 saves).
A-3,690
Referees-Stephen Campbell (14), Jake Podann (8).
Linesmen-Brayden Cameron (127), Brennan Walker (143).
