Kelowna Claims First 2025-26 Meeting with Wild Wednesday, 8-4
WHL Wenatchee Wild

Kelowna Claims First 2025-26 Meeting with Wild Wednesday, 8-4

Published on February 12, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild forward Rui Han
Wenatchee Wild forward Rui Han
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

KELOWNA, British Columbia - The Wenatchee Wild hammered out 21 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of Wednesday's Western Hockey League game at Prospera Place, and potted two power play goals to erase an early two-goal Kelowna Rockets lead. Then, the Rockets offense fueled up and took off.

Kelowna raced to an 8-4 win over the Wild in the first of four meetings between the teams during the 2025-26 season. Wenatchee and Kelowna had not met since New Year's Eve in 2024, and will face off with each other a total of four times in February alone. The Wild slipped to 19-28-3-2 with the loss, while the Rockets bumped their mark to 27-17-5-2 on the season.

The Rockets took the lead 3:20 into the game with a shot from the right wing off an assembly line from Shane Smith and Carson Wetsch. At 7:04, Smith pushed through a chance at the front of the net to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.

Wenatchee kicked its offense into gear later in the period - after power play shots from Luka Shcherbyna and Sam Elliott, it was Rui Han's turn at the front of the net, collecting a rebound and ripping a third-chance shot past Harrison Boettiger with 9:38 left in the period to cut into the lead. A goal from Zane Torre off a weak-side rebound wiped away the remainder at 17:41, and Levi Benson swatted home a power play goal of his own with 56.3 seconds left in the period to give the Wild the lead.

The tables turned for good in the second period - at 7:23, Smith sprang free for a breakaway goal that slid by the pads of Tobias Tvrznik, tying the game. 22 seconds later, Hayden Paupanekis found Ryan Oothoudt for a tap-in on the doorstep, putting Kelowna ahead to stay.

Kelowna regained the two-goal lead when Vojtech Cihar finessed a penalty shot just under the crossbar 3:46 into the period, but Mathias Silaban caught a piece of a Boston Tait toss from the left point at 5:20, caroming the puck past Boettiger to trim the lead to 5-4. Wenatchee would not find the back of the net again - Hiroki Gojsic curled a pass onto Tij Iginla's stick at the top of the left-wing circle for a snap into the top corner of the cage just before the halfway mark of the third.

Smith finished the hat trick with a snap from the edge of the slot with 2:22 to play, and with 1:59 on the clock, Gojsic netted a goal of his own by jamming a second chance through to cap the scoring.

Silaban and Torre each finished the night with a goal and an assist, while Josh Toll earned two assists to expand his lead in the team scoring race to six points over Shcherbyna and the rest of the field. Tvrznik made 41 saves, while Wenatchee logged a 2-for-6 finish on the power play and wiped away both Kelowna power plays.

Smith added an assist to his hat trick for the Rockets, while Wetsch finished the night with four assists. 11 Kelowna players ended the night with at least a point, while five finished with more than one, and Iginla went 18-for-24 at the faceoff dot. Boettiger made 29 saves to pick up his 18th win of the season. Kelowna posted 37 of the game's final 45 shots on goal, and won 33 of its last 44 faceoffs.

The Wild return home Friday as the Rockets drop in for Wenatchee's annual "Knight at the Wild," presented by Wenatchee Valley College. The opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center is scheduled for 7 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+.

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.

Check out the Wenatchee Wild Statistics

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Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild forward Rui Han
Wenatchee Wild forward Rui Han
(Steve Dunsmoor)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from February 12, 2026


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