Sports stats



WHL Wenatchee Wild

Friesen Scores Twice, But Alarie Posts Hat Trick as Wild Fall Friday, 6-3

January 27, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Evan Friesen and Seattle Thunderbirds' Scott Ratzlaff in action
Wenatchee Wild's Evan Friesen and Seattle Thunderbirds' Scott Ratzlaff in action
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - With the Wenatchee Wild down 2-1 in the third period Friday night, Kenta Isogai barely waited for the clock to start ticking on a pivotal four-minute power play before denting the back of the net.

The Seattle Thunderbirds pivoted the momentum right back, though, scoring four of the game's final five goals and getting a hat trick from Eric Alarie in a 6-3 win at Town Toyota Center in Western Hockey League play.

Alarie scored the first Seattle goal of the night, jousting in a pass in transition from Jeremy Hanzel halfway through the first period. With 7:54 left in the second, Nico Myatovic helped the Thunderbirds enter the Wild zone 3-on-2 before sending a pass across to Nathan Pilling for a wrist shot from the right-wing circle to make it 2-0. However, with 2:17 left in the period, Wenatchee quickly took advantage of a Sam Charko penalty, with Isogai feeding the puck through Miles Cooper for an Evan Friesen tap-in and a 2-1 score after two.

Wenatchee picked up a four-minute power play on a roughing call to Ashton Cumby, and Isogai ripped a shot past Scott Ratzlaff from the top of the right-wing circle just 11 seconds later, tying it up at 6:02 of the third. Braeden Cootes drove the puck the other way for a shorthanded goal at the 6:55 mark to give the lead back to Seattle.

The lead stayed in Thunderbird hands for good - Sawyer Mynio's shot from the left point trickled through for a 4-2 lead at 8:44, and Alarie hit the top corner of the net with 7:25 left for a three-goal Thunderbird lead. Friesen potted an even-strength goal with 7:01 left to cut the lead back, but Alarie finished his three-goal night three minutes later by scraping in a power play goal to close the scoring for the night.

"[Evan] is a guy that we lean on hard," said assistant coach Andrew Sarauer. "He's a guy who plays in all situations and we definitely missed him when he was out. He finishes his checks and goes to the dirty areas, and we need more of that. That's what he gets rewarded on - a lot of times, he takes straight lines and goes to the net with his stick on the ice. A lot of his goals are in the paint two or three feet from the net, and that's where good things are going to happen."

Friesen's second career multi-goal game extended his point streak to seven games, while Isogai had a goal and two assists to stretch his point streak to nine in a row. Briley Wood picked up an assist for a point in his 10th straight game, a new career-best. The Wild enjoyed a 2-for-5 night on the power play and Daniel Hauser made 41 saves as Wenatchee dropped to 26-16-4-0 for the season.

Alarie's first career hat trick highlighted the offense for the Thunderbirds, who also got three assists from Jordan Gustafson. Ratzlaff earned his 11th win of the season, making 34 saves, and Seattle bumped up its power play mark by finishing 1-for-3. The Thunderbirds move to 15-23-2-0 in the first game of seven over a 10-day stretch.

Wenatchee closes out the month with a visit from the Prince George Cougars on Sunday for Teacher Appreciation Night, presented by Gesa Credit Union. Sunday's game includes the annual "Dash for Cash" during the first intermission featuring 10 teachers from around the Wenatchee Valley, a crazy wig giveaway to the first 1,000 fans and the "Battle of the Bands" with performances from the Quincy High School and Ephrata High School pep bands. Sunday's opening faceoff at Town Toyota Center is slated for 4 p.m.

Tickets for that game and all home regular-season games are on sale now at 509-888-7825, or by visiting the team office at Town Toyota Center. Wild playoff packages and 2024-25 season tickets are now on sale as well - 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, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Check out the Wenatchee Wild Statistics




Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild's Evan Friesen and Seattle Thunderbirds' Scott Ratzlaff in action
Wenatchee Wild's Evan Friesen and Seattle Thunderbirds' Scott Ratzlaff in action
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central