Game 1 Belongs to Wild: Saylor Sets Tone on Early Goal
April 6, 2012 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
WENATCHEE, Wash. - Blake Saylor (Centennial, Colo.) scored an early goal, Robert Nichols (Dallas, Texas) was his usual spectacular self and the Wenatchee Wild defeated the Alaska Avalanche 4-1 Thursday in Game 1 of the West Division semifinals at the Town Toyota Center.
Saylor got the party started when he staked the Wild to 1-0 lead a little over two minutes into the contest on a whistling wrist shot from the inside edge of the near faceoff circle. Jerad Tafoya (Highland Ranch, Colo.) earned the lone assist on the goal, a reward for his line's hard work in the offensive zone.
Wenatchee doubled its lead to 2-0 during its first power play opportunity of the game when Blake Roubos (Niagara Falls, Ontario) lit the lamp with less than four minutes remaining before the first intermission. The scoring sequence started at the Alaska blue line when Matt Cope (Lakewood, Colo.) made a touch pass to Trace Redmond (McKinney, Texas) who rushed into the zone down the left wing. After beating a defenseman wide, Redmond slid the puck above the goal crease to Roubos, who was crashing the net from the other wing, for a highlight reel goal.
The Avs cut the Wild lead in half 34 seconds into the second period on Evan Janssen's power-play goal. Joe Schmitz and Kevin Novakovich assisted on what would be Alaska's only goal of the contest. The Wild regained their 2-goal lead a little less than seven minutes later on their second power-play marker of the contest when Shawn Pauly (Bellingham, Wash.) scored from a sharp angle through goaltender Nick Kulmanovsky's wickets. Chris Kerr (Penticton, British Columbia) and Tyler Rostenkowski (Bloomingdale, Ill.) assisted.
Parker Johnson (Bloomington, Ill.) tacked on an empty-netter with 40 seconds remaining in regulation to close out scoring. Rostenkowski picked up the lone assist.
Named the NAHL's goaltender of the month for March Thursday afternoon, Nichols made 26 saves on 27 shots to earn his first NAHL playoff victory. Kulmanovsky made 15 saves on 18 shots.
Special teams were a factor. The Wild scored two power-play goals on five chances while the Avs went 1-for-4 on their man-advantage opportunities.
Rostenkowski finished the contest with two assists. Saylor, Roubos, Pauly and Johnson scored the Wild's goals.
Game 2 of the series will be played at 7:05 p.m. Friday at the Town Toyota Center. Game 3 is Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 509-888-PUCK (7825), by visiting the Town Toyota Center Box Office or by logging on to http://tickets.wenatcheewild.com/.
North American Hockey League Stories from April 6, 2012
- Bulls Take Game One Over Odessa with 5-2 Victory - Amarillo Bulls
- Richter's Hat Trick Fuels Bobcats' 7-2 Victory - Bismarck Bobcats
- Bulls Take Game One, 5-2 - Odessa Jackalopes
- Bruins win 4-2 - Austin Bruins
- Wings Claim Playoff Opener, 4-0 - Traverse City North Stars
- MacLean Dominates in Game One Victory - Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings
- Tenders Doyon, Heuser, and Hutton Named to All NAPHL Team - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Blond Ambition: Bleaches Stars Open Playoffs Today - Traverse City North Stars
- Game 1 Belongs to Wild: Saylor Sets Tone on Early Goal - Wenatchee Wild
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.
