WHL Playoffs Top Performer: March 29, 2024

Briley Wood’s monster six-point night propelled the Wenatchee Wild to an 8-6 comeback win against the Kelowna Rockets in Game 1 of their First Round series and WHL Playoffs Top Performer recognition for Friday, March 29.

The Rivers, Man. product got Wenatchee on the board with a powerplay marker by jamming a rebound past Jari Kykkanen midway through the first period, though the Wild still trailed 2-1.

He netted his second of the night in the middle frame with a one-timer from the faceoff dot going top shelf and completed the hat trick with a backdoor tally on the man advantage.

Not content to settle for three, Wood scored a fourth goal in the third period that would stand as the game-winner.

The WHL record for goals by a player in a single game is five, which was most recently achieved by Max Reinhart with the Kootenay ICE (a former iteration of the Wild) on April 27, 2011.

FOUR. I REPEAT. FOUR GOALS FOR BRILEY WOOD.

Wenatchee takes its first lead of the game in the final frame!@WHLwild_ | #FeedtheFuture pic.twitter.com/5vp2hO1IQg

— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 30, 2024

The 21-year-old also added a pair of helpers, with three of his points coming on the man-advantage.

Wenatchee was a near-perfect 4/5 on the powerplay to surge past the high-flying Rockets and take a 1-0 series lead in the 2024 WHL Playoffs.

Wood was named first star of the night for his efforts and game-high nine shots on net.

He made the WHL as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2019 before being traded to the Winnipeg ICE in 2022.

Wood was a part of the ICE team that advanced to the WHL Championship Series, putting up three goals and an assist in 19 playoff games.

Game 2 of the First-Round series goes on Saturday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m. PST at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Wash.