Wild, Winterhawks Score in Bunches Saturday as Portland Prevails, 8-4
Photo Courtesy: Keith Dwiggins/Portland Winterhawks
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PORTLAND, Ore. – When the Wenatchee Wild scored Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, they scored in bunches.
The Portland Winterhawks scored in bunches as well…and the last bunch was a big one.
The Wild charged back from a 3-0 deficit to briefly grab the lead against the Winterhawks early in the third period, but Portland scored the final five goals to take an 8-4 victory in Western Hockey League U.S. Division play. Three Wenatchee goals came in a two-minute span across the second intermission, but the pivotal scoring stretch saw the hosts rebuild a two-goal lead ahead of the five-minute mark of the third period.
Josh Zakreski punched home a one-timer from the top of the right-wing circle with 22 seconds left in Portland’s first power play of the night, giving the Winterhawks the lead at 6:43 of the opening period. As a Wenatchee penalty expired, Carsyn Dyck grabbed a faceoff from David Hoy and tossed it to the back of the net for a 2-0 lead with 5:35 left in the period, and the Winterhawks expanded the lead to 3-0 on a tap-in at the net from Zakreski at 8:13 of the second.
When Wenatchee got its second power play of the night, though, the Wild were ready to pounce – Shaun Rios let fly a catch-and-release goal from Reid Andresen high in the right circle with 8:12 left in the period, just six seconds into a cross-checking call to Zakreski. The Wild cut deeper into the lead with 1:25 left in the period as Lukas McCloskey walked the puck to the top of the right circle and zipped a shot past Marek Schlenker, and Deagan McMillan’s goal 44 seconds later off an Evan Friesen takeaway inside the blue line erased the lead entirely.
Friesen’s wraparound 31 seconds into the third period put the Wild ahead, but the Winterhawks had a response. Reed Brown scored 42 seconds later from the slot to tie the game, and Kyle McDonough’s goal down the slot at 3:08 put Portland in front to stay. Jordan Duguay scored in transition just before the five-minute mark to send the Winterhawks back to a two-goal advantage. Ryder Thompson and McDonough scored shorthanded empty-net goals 25 seconds apart to put the game on ice after a delay-of-game call to Zakreski.
McMillan led Wenatchee’s scoring effort with a goal and two assists, while Friesen added an assist to his third-period goal, and Grant Reid notched his first WHL point with the primary assist on McCloskey’s tally. Rios’s power play goal gave the Wild a marker on the man-advantage for the ninth straight game, and 10th in Wenatchee’s last 11. Daniel Hauser took the loss with 32 saves, as Wenatchee moved to 8-11-3-0 on the year. McDonough had two goals and two assists for Portland, and Schlenker made 16 saves to push the Winterhawks to 12-8-2-0 on the year.
Wenatchee finishes a three-game road stretch on Wednesday as they travel to Kent for a U.S. Division date against the Seattle Thunderbirds. The opening puck drop at Accesso Showare Center is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live. The Wild are next on home ice against the Tri-City Americans in a Black Friday contest on November 29 – 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 0 3 1 – 4
Portland 2 1 5 – 8
1st Period-1, Portland, Zakreski 9 (Jugnauth, Buttazzoni), 6:43 (PP). 2, Portland, Dyck 4 (Hoy), 14:35. Penalties-Davis Wen (hooking), 5:05; Cooper Wen (hooking), 10:56; Rios Wen (tripping), 12:35; Zane Saab Wen (roughing), 19:29; Zakreski Por (roughing), 19:29.
2nd Period-3, Portland, Zakreski 10 (Thompson, Buttazzoni), 8:13. 4, Wenatchee, Rios 5 (Andresen, McMillan), 11:48 (PP). 5, Wenatchee, McCloskey 3 (Reid, McMillan), 18:35. 6, Wenatchee, McMillan 4 (Friesen), 19:19. Penalties-Tansem Wen (holding), 1:43; Yaremko Por (boarding), 6:01; Zakreski Por (cross checking), 11:42.
3rd Period-7, Wenatchee, Friesen 9 (McMillan, Zane Saab), 0:31. 8, Portland, Brown 3 (Duguay, McDonough), 1:13. 9, Portland, McDonough 5 (Ruedig), 3:08. 10, Portland, Duguay 6 (McDonough), 4:56. 11, Portland, Chyzowski 16 (Darby), 18:54 (SH EN). 12, Portland, McDonough 6 (Yaremko), 19:19 (SH EN). Penalties-Tansem Wen (major-fighting), 0:41; Darby Por (major-fighting), 0:41; Cooper Wen (hooking), 11:47; Zakreski Por (delay of game), 18:49.
Shots on Goal-Wenatchee 7-9-4-20. Portland 21-10-9-40.
Power Play Opportunities-Wenatchee 1 / 3; Portland 1 / 5.
Goalies-Wenatchee, Hauser 5-4-2-0 (38 shots-32 saves). Portland, Schlenker 4-4-1-0 (20 shots-16 saves).
A-4,725
Referees-Mike Langin (67), Tatu Kunto (95).
Linesmen-Nick Albinati (3), Toby Wolfe (178).
