Wild Roar Back Late, Snare 2-1 Overtime Win Against Seattle Friday
Photo Courtesy: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild
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WENATCHEE, Wash. – The climb to the Western Hockey League playoffs could have been a lot longer with a very short runway after Friday’s Wenatchee Wild home contest against the Seattle Thunderbirds. A couple of timely goals in Friday’s matchup, however, have Wenatchee as much in the race as ever with 13 games to play.
Maddix McCagherty’s toss from the right-wing circle with 4:59 to play erased a 1-0 Seattle lead, and Lukas McCloskey scored 29 seconds into overtime, propelling the Wild to a 2-1 overtime victory in their final matchup of the year against the Thunderbirds. Wenatchee won two of its three home matchups with Seattle this year, and went to overtime in three of the six total contests between the teams.
Unlike the 44-minute deadlock that started Sunday’s tilt between the teams in Wenatchee, the impasse came after the game’s opening goal Friday. 5:58 into the game, Brayden Schuurman’s throw from below the goal line found its way out front for Matej Pekar, who backhanded it past Brendan Gee to put the Thunderbirds in front.
It was Seattle’s only lead of the night – the stalemate lasted 49 minutes, before McCagherty’s wrist shot from just off the slot beat Ratzlaff on his glove side to even the contest. After the Wild built a 13-4 margin on shots in the final 20 minutes of regulation, the overtime session lasted long enough for only a single shot – Miles Cooper entered the Seattle zone on a 2-on-1 with McCloskey, following a takeaway by Luka Shcherbyna in the corner at the Wenatchee end. McCloskey’s shot from the right-wing circle beat Ratzlaff on his right side, sending the crowd of nearly 3,000 at Town Toyota Center into a frenzy and sending the Wild off their home ice with two much-needed points.
Gee earned his seventh win of the season behind 21 saves, and the Wild went a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Wenatchee was not awarded a power play in Friday’s contest. Ratzlaff stopped 30 of 32 Wenatchee shots, while the Thunderbirds won the duel at the faceoff dot, 34-16.
Seattle dropped to 22-29-3-1 on the year, three points ahead of Wenatchee in the race for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. The Wild climbed to 19-29-6-1 on the season, moving into a tie with Kamloops at 45 points apiece following the Blazers’ shootout loss at Lethbridge Friday.
Wenatchee travels to downtown Portland on Saturday, squaring off with the Winterhawks for the final time in 2024-25. The opening puck drop at Veterans Memorial Coliseum is slated for 6 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live. The Wild return to home ice for Pucks & Paws Night and Walt the Wolf’s 17th birthday bash Sunday afternoon.
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.
Seattle 1 0 0 0 – 1
Wenatchee 0 0 1 1 – 2
1st Period-1, Seattle, Pekar 16 (Schuurman), 5:58. Penalties-McMillan Wen (tripping), 3:09.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Tansem Wen (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 5:42; McMillan Wen (embellishment), 10:48.
3rd Period-2, Wenatchee, McCagherty 12 (Joudrey, Zane Saab), 15:01. Penalties-Cumby Sea (major-fighting), 1:50; Dunphy Wen (major-fighting), 1:50.
OT Period-3, Wenatchee, McCloskey 6 (Cooper, Shcherbyna), 0:29. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Seattle 10-8-4-0-22. Wenatchee 8-10-13-1-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Seattle 0 / 3; Wenatchee 0 / 0.
Goalies-Seattle, Ratzlaff 18-16-2-1 (32 shots-30 saves). Wenatchee, Gee 7-10-2-0 (22 shots-21 saves).
A-2,997
Referees-Bryan Bourdon (45), Jackson Kozari (97).
Linesmen-bryce fetzer (158), Anthony Guzzo (165).
