Wild Take Rivalry-Fueled Game 2 with 3-2 Final
December 6, 2014 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
Tonight, the Town Toyota Center saw 2,715 enthusiastic fans show up for Game Two of the Fairbanks versus Wenatchee series, and with grit and ambition, the Wild were able to give back a 3-2 final. Stevie Bryant, Colin Burston, and Zach Quinn were each rewarded a Star of the Game. To continue on with the NAHL Standings update, the Wild are currently only 3 points out of 4th place and have improved to a .519 win percentage. If the next two games are won, the Wild will officially be in the race for the South Division's top three spots.
Fairbanks was the first bench to put a point up on the board and this unassisted goal came from forward Lonnie Clary at 11:36. This was the lone goal of the first period.
When Stevie Bryant put the Wild on the board 18:29 into the second, he was able to record a power play goal with help from team mates Ryan Gotelaere and Colin Burston. This point was also the lone goal of the period.
Wenatchee played very well throughout the last frame with two goals to the Ice Dogs' one. Andre Pison started the third off in Wenatchee's favor with a goal at 8:24 and an assist for David Powlowski. At 16:50, Bryant scored his second point of the night and was assisted by Colin Burston. In a last attempt to try and take the lead, Ethan Somoza scored a power play, empty net, and extra attacker goal at 19:42. Somoza received help from Chandler Madry.
These two teams already had a burning rivalry going into this weekend, and after tonight, the flames have escalated exponentially. Over an hour's worth of penalty minutes were recorded by the end of the third period, 64 to be exact, and the Wild would end up taking 44 of those back to the locker room. Infractions were called on Chris Jones (Checking from Behind) (Checking from Behind (Misconduct)) (Roughing (Double Minor)) (Abuse of Officials (Game Misconduct)), Mike Coyne (Roughing), Brendan Harris (Tripping), and Ryan Chiasson (Roughing)x2 (Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Misconduct)). Wenatchee was 1 for 2 on the power play and had 27 shots on Ice Dogs goaltender Chase Munroe.
Zach Quinn was Wenatchee's goaltender for the night and was able to stop 37 shots on goal out of 38 while playing a full 60 minutes.
Coach Littler stated after the game, "For the first two periods we did not have a lot of jump. Give Fairbanks credit for the pressure [they] put on us. I thought we showed some grit in the third. It is nice to win a game that we didn't have our best stuff. I know we are looking for an intense game on Sunday to finish off this three game set. Both teams have players that don't like each other and that helps make this a good rivalry."
Both teams will have a day of rest and recuperation before the third and final game of this series. Sunday's game is expected to be filled equally with great hockey as well as a great rivalry atmosphere that will not be forgotten. Puck drop is at 5:05 pm PST! Don't miss out!
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