Grossklaus Notches Another on Power Play, But Medicine Hat Solves Wild Saturday for 5-1 Win
WHL Wenatchee Wild

Grossklaus Notches Another on Power Play, But Medicine Hat Solves Wild Saturday for 5-1 Win

Published on December 6, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Kalen Miles in action
Wenatchee Wild's Kalen Miles in action
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Randy Feere / Medicine Hat Tigers)

MEDICINE HAT, Alberta - The Wenatchee Wild ran into the Western Hockey League's hottest-scoring pair of defensemen on Saturday evening at Co-Op Place. In the only meeting of the year between the Wild and the Medicine Hat Tigers, Bryce Pickford - the league's top goal scorer among blueliners - picked his spots about as well as anybody.

Pickford finished the night with a hat trick as Medicine Hat scored a 5-1 win, their seventh straight. The Tigers added points to the WHL leaderboard for the 11 th straight outing, and pulled within a point of the Edmonton Oil Kings for the top overall spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

On the Tigers' Teddy Bear Toss night, Liam Ruck scored the milestone marker for the second straight year, sending a shot over the shoulder of Cal Conway into the top corner of the Wild cage at the 4:17 mark. Pickford hit virtually the same spot with his lean-back chance four minutes later from the left wing, and the Tigers took a 2-0 advantage to the break.

His goal 10:39 into the second period pushed the lead to 3-0, getting a second chance from the top of the left circle after his first chance was blocked back to him. Aiden Grossklaus deflected in a shot from Boston Tait at the left point with 5:41 to play, giving Wenatchee a power play tally and cutting the lead to 3-1.

With 2:18 to play in the period, Pickford wrapped up the hat trick by hammering a one-timer from the left point off a setup pass from Liam Ruck, and the lead went to 4-1 after two periods. Medicine Hat got its final goal on Kadon McCann's backdoor tap-in off a Markus Ruck setup just past the two-minute mark of the third.

Wenatchee went into Saturday's game 20 for its last 23 on the penalty kill, but was limited to just a 2-for-5 finish on the kill in this contest, as Medicine Hat converted on three consecutive opportunities. The Wild were able to snag a power play goal for a 1-for-5 final mark, scoring on the man-advantage for the fourth straight game and seventh in their last nine. Grossklaus posted his third power play goal of the year, climbing to within one of the team lead in that department.

Pickford, Liam Ruck and Markus Ruck each finished with three points for Medicine Hat, while Jonas Woo picked up two assists. Jordan Switzer landed his 12 th win of the season behind 28 saves, while Conway stopped 23 shots in taking the loss. The Tigers were also dominant at the faceoff dot, winning 37 of the 59 restarts - Noah Davidson alone finished 11-for-12 on the draw. Wenatchee center Kalen Miles won three faceoffs Saturday in his WHL debut.

The Wild wrap up their three-game road trip in Calgary Sunday afternoon, with the opening puck drop against the Hitmen scheduled for 3 p.m. Wenatchee time - live coverage is available on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+. Wenatchee returns to home ice for its Ugly Sweater Night presented by Dick's Heating & Air Conditioning, this coming Friday against the Tri-City Americans.

Tickets for Friday's game and all regular-season Wild home games are on sale now by phone at 509-888-7825, 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.

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Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild's Kalen Miles in action
Wenatchee Wild's Kalen Miles in action
(Randy Feere / Medicine Hat Tigers)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2025


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