Wild Power Play Comes Through Again, but Victoria Takes 6-3 Win in Saturday Matinee

Photo Courtesy: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild

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VICTORIA, British Columbia – The Wenatchee Wild power play put its best foot forward again on Saturday against the Victoria Royals, but the Royals finished Saturday’s game with enough power to earn three of a possible four points on the weekend. Nate Misskey and Tanner Scott posted two goals and an assist apiece in a matinee matchup at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, as Victoria picked up a 6-3 win in Western Hockey League play. The Royals climbed to 5-1-1-1 for the year, while Wenatchee fell to 3-3-2-0 with the loss.

The start was a bright one for the Wild, as Hayden Moore scored on his own rebound, off a point-blank chance at the 1:47 mark of the opening period. The Wild expanded on the lead at 2:45 of the second, picking up a power play with Deagan McMillan serving an extra penalty on his fight with Chase Bambrick – a pass from Ashton Brown in the corner found Zane Saab inside the slot, and his wrister put the Wild ahead 2-0.

Victoria evened up the game after Scott took advantage of a rebound in front of Noah Stenvig at 4:05 of the period, and Misskey scored in transition off a feed from Scott at the 6:56 mark. The Wild got their second power play tally of the night at 10:02 of the period, when Miles Cooper put away a weak-side chance after taking a pass from Dawson Seitz.

The Royals tied the game with 3:22 left in the period, when Scott pushed in his second goal of the night, and took the lead for good with 40.2 seconds left in the period on a power play goal from Brayden Boehm following a pass from Cole Reschny to the front of the net. They finished the scoring in the third period, when Misskey wristed in a shot from the right point at 5:57 on the power play, and Nolan Stewart punched in a rebound off a Caleb Matthews shot at 11:26.

“We played well for half the game, and we ran out of gas,” said Wild head coach Don Nachbaur. “We made mental errors, and we paid the price for it. It turned into a penalty fest for us, and that part really affected us – with our eight penalties [Friday] night, we expended a lot of energy winning that game.”

Moore closed the night with a goal and an assist to lead Wenatchee, who closed the night with a 2-for-7 mark on the power play. Victoria went 2-for-5 and also picked up two assists from Keaton Verhoeff. Stenvig made 26 saves in his second career WHL start, while Kraus earned the victory with 15 stops for the Royals.

The Wild return to home ice on Friday against the Kelowna Rockets for Wild About Awareness Night presented by Numerica, with the opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets for that game and all regular-season 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 1 2 0 – 3
Victoria 0 4 2 – 6

1st Period-1, Wenatchee, Moore 2   1:47. Penalties-Wilson Vic (hooking), 3:11; Newman Vic (boarding), 9:15; Shcherbyna Wen (holding), 11:59; Brown Wen (delay of game), 17:43.

2nd Period-2, Wenatchee, Zane Saab 3 (Brown, Moore), 2:45 (PP). 3, Victoria, Scott 4 (Fryer, Verhoeff), 4:06. 4, Victoria, Misskey 3 (Scott), 6:56 (SH). 5, Wenatchee, Cooper 4 (Dawson Seitz, Shcherbyna), 10:02 (PP). 6, Victoria, Scott 5 (Kipkie, Misskey), 16:38. 7, Victoria, Boehm 2 (Reschny, Trembecky), 19:19 (PP). Penalties-Bambrick Wen (major-fighting), 1:24; McMillan Vic (unsportsmanlike cnd., major-fighting), 1:24; Escalus Burlock Vic (roughing, tripping, 10-minute misconduct), 6:32; Zane Saab Wen (tripping), 7:02; Samanski Wen (holding), 12:29; Joudrey Wen (cross checking), 18:23.

3rd Period-8, Victoria, Misskey 4 (Verhoeff, Loponen), 5:57 (PP). 9, Victoria, Stewart 3 (Matthews, Keller), 11:26. Penalties-Moore Wen (interference), 5:47; Kipkie Vic (tripping), 8:21; Matthews Vic (hooking), 14:58.

Shots on Goal-Wenatchee 7-5-6-18. Victoria 6-16-10-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Wenatchee 2 / 7; Victoria 2 / 5.
Goalies-Wenatchee, Stenvig 1-1-1-0 (32 shots-26 saves). Victoria, Kraus 3-1-1-1 (18 shots-15 saves).
A-3,031
Referees-Bryan Bourdon (45), Jarrod Lucoe (43).
Linesmen-Aidan hitchmough (154), Jack McNabb (144).