Leyerzapf Turns Aside 54 in WHL Debut Friday as Wild Defeat Everett, 5-1
Published on March 21, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
Everett Silvertips' Zackary Shantz battles Wenatchee Wild's Mathias Silaban and Carsten Leyerzapf
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)
WENATCHEE, Wash. - Sometimes, the best way to learn what you're made of is to simply step into the fire and find out.
With injuries to top Wenatchee Wild goaltenders Tobias Tvrznik and Cal Conway, Wenatchee Wild goaltender Carsten Leyerzapf stepped right into the fire in Friday's Western Hockey League game against the Everett Silvertips at Town Toyota Center, and fired up the Wenatchee faithful with 54 saves, earning the Wild a 5-1 win in their final home game of the 2025-26 season. The win gave the club a 17-14-2-1 home record, with just a road game at Everett remaining Saturday, and wiped away an 11-game Silvertips winning streak.
The Wild took the lead early, getting a putback goal from Zane Saab off an initial chance from Mason Kraft just 3:12 into the contest. Kalen Miles doubled the lead halfway through the first period, sending a transition chance from the right wing past Raiden LeGall inside the back post for a two-goal advantage.
Rui Han struck twice in the latter stages of the first period, starting with a short-side wrister with 6:26 left in the first period and 24 seconds left on a penalty to Elias Papadatos - Han walked the puck through the right-wing circle before snapping it past LeGall for the three-goal margin. With under a minute to go in the period, Han jogged the puck ahead before undressing LeGall and slipping it through the five-hole to send Wenatchee to a four-goal lead at the break.
No scoring followed for either side in the second period, but Leyerzapf continued his run of success in the Wenatchee net, stopping 18 shots in the first period and 18 more in the second. It took a power play chance and 50 Everett shots for the Silvertips to break through for the first time - Landon DuPont's shot from above the left circle ticked off the stick of Rylan Gould in the slot and evaded Leyerzapf for a goal with 7:29 to play.
Wenatchee had one more goal in them, though, as Levi Benson raced the puck to the left-wing circle and pitched it to the top corner over LeGall's shoulder to finish the scoring with 3:38 to go.
Han wrapped up the night with two goals, while Benson closed the evening with a goal and an assist and Mason Kraft picked up an assist, becoming the third Wenatchee player this season to reach the 40-point plateau. Leyerzapf's performance was the second WHL debut of 50-plus saves this season for the Wild, after Tobias Tvrznik's 60-save effort in Wenatchee's season debut at Everett.
Wenatchee ended the night at 6-for-7 on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the man-advantage, bumping its record to 25-37-3-2 for the year. LeGall took the loss with 20 saves, as the Silvertips fell to 56-8-2-1 before their regular-season finale Saturday.
Wenatchee's final game of the year will see the team hit the road Saturday for a rematch against the Silvertips - the opening puck drop at Angel of the Winds Arena is slated for 6:05 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+.
2026-27 season tickets 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.
Images from this story
 Everett Silvertips' Zackary Shantz battles Wenatchee Wild's Mathias Silaban and Carsten Leyerzapf (Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild) |
Western Hockey League Stories from March 21, 2026
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