Wild Pile Up Season-High Four Power Play Goals in 6-2 Win Over Vancouver Sunday
Photo Courtesy: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild
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WENATCHEE, Wash. – The chase for the Western Hockey League playoffs continues for the Wenatchee Wild, and the club’s special teams propelled them forward in Sunday’s Western Conference clash against the Vancouver Giants.
The Wild piled up four power play goals and went 6-for-7 on the penalty kill on the way to a 6-2 win over the Giants, racking up five of a possible six points in the WHL standings over the weekend. The win moves Wenatchee to 20-29-7-1 on the year, two points back of Seattle for the conference’s final playoff spot, though Sunday’s Wild game leaves a game in hand for Seattle with four weeks to play.
Wenatchee got one shot on goal in the final 7:07 of the first period, but the Wild would hit the net on three straight scoring chances. Miles Cooper pitched a wrist shot past Burke Hood on the power play with 1:43 left in the first period, after a setup pass to the low slot found its way to the right-wing circle. Evan Friesen broke away for a goal on a stretch pass from Reid Andresen 32 seconds out of the intermission, and Luka Shcherbyna found Shaun Rios ahead of the rush 29 seconds later for a one-timer to stretch the lead to 3-0.
Rios added a second goal 4:50 into the second period, giving the Wild a second power play tally by pitching a shot down the slot for the 4-0 Wenatchee margin. Adam Titlbach’s shot from the edge of the slot at 10:47 cut into the lead, but Friesen doubled up on his haul by popping Andresen’s shot from the left point off of Burke Hood and through for another power play goal with 2:18 to play in the period.
Vancouver found success on the man-advantage at 2:44 of the third, with Tyus Sparks’s shot from just inside the right circle. Dawson Seitz buried the last tally of the night for the Wild with 11:18 to play, after Brendan Dunphy’s shot down the slot kicked out to him on the left wing for a rebound and a putback.
“[Tonight] starts with our leadership group,” said Wild associate head coach Chris Clark. “Friesen, Cooper, Seitz and Andresen, you could make an argument that they were our four best players. I thought they did a good job of putting our team on their back and pulling the guys into the fight. On the power play, guys were moving the puck quickly – I thought we did a good job attacking the net. A lot of time, the penalty kill is just about hard work, and we did a good job pressuring up-ice. When we made some mistakes, Brendan Gee was there to make some big saves, too.”
Andresen ended the night with four assists, a career high, while Friesen and Rios closed out the evening with a pair of goals apiece and Shcherbyna picked up three assists. Seitz’s goal capped his 200th career WHL game, and Gee made 22 saves to earn his eighth win of the season. In addition to Wenatchee’s 4-for-5 power play performance, the hosts were dominant at the faceoff dot, with a 41-20 margin in their favor. Tye Spencer went 11-for-14 on restarts for the Wild, and Friesen won 15 of his 25 draws in the game. Wenatchee’s four power play goals set a new season-high, and the team’s best mark since March 8 of last season.
Hood fell to 14-11-5-0 on the season for the Giants behind 25 saves, and Titlbach had the club’s only multi-point game with a goal and an assist. Vancouver slipped to 28-22-7-0 on the season with the loss.
Wenatchee heads to Spokane Friday ahead of Saturday’s annual Hockey Fights Cancer game at Town Toyota Center. Friday’s opening puck drop at Spokane Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live.
2025-26 season tickets are now 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.
Vancouver 0 1 1 – 2
Wenatchee 1 4 1 – 6
1st Period-1, Wenatchee, Cooper 21 (Shcherbyna, Andresen), 18:17 (PP). Penalties-Joudrey Wen (interference), 8:59; Shcherbyna Wen (holding), 12:53; Lipinski Van (hooking), 17:08.
2nd Period-2, Wenatchee, Friesen 23 (Andresen), 0:32. 3, Wenatchee, Rios 22 (Shcherbyna), 1:01. 4, Wenatchee, Rios 23 (Andresen, Shcherbyna), 4:50 (PP). 5, Vancouver, Titlbach 25 (Roberts), 10:47. 6, Wenatchee, Friesen 24 (Andresen, Cooper), 17:42 (PP). Penalties-Roberts Van (interference), 4:17; Mittelsteadt Van (cross checking), 5:09; Shcherbyna Wen (holding), 6:07; Mittelsteadt Van (hooking), 16:43; Joudrey Wen (interference), 19:43.
3rd Period-7, Vancouver, Sparks 10 (Titlbach, Muranov), 2:44 (PP). 8, Wenatchee, Dawson Seitz 14 (Dunphy, McCloskey), 8:42 (PP). Penalties-Pankey Wen (boarding), 1:05; Zane Saab Wen (tripping), 4:23; Cail Van (holding), 7:00; McCloskey Wen (high sticking), 18:08.
Shots on Goal-Vancouver 9-8-7-24. Wenatchee 6-13-12-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Vancouver 1 / 7; Wenatchee 4 / 5.
Goalies-Vancouver, Hood 14-11-5-0 (31 shots-25 saves). Wenatchee, Gee 8-10-2-0 (24 shots-22 saves).
A-2,842
Referees-Taylor Burzminski (83), Jake Podann (8).
Linesmen-Bryce Fetzer (158), Mark Heier (125).
