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WHL Wenatchee Wild

Shcherbyna, Friesen Tally in Shootout Friday as Stenvig Earns First WHL Victory with 4-3 Decision

October 12, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Noah Stenvig on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Noah Stenvig on game night
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Austin Draude/Wenatchee Wild)

VICTORIA, British Columbia - The Wenatchee Wild closed out Friday's game at the Victoria Royals with their first shootout of the season, and while they got the goals they needed from their veterans, it was a young up-and-comer who stepped into a big moment to earn his first Western Hockey League victory.

Noah Stenvig made 14 saves in a relief appearance, the second of his WHL career, as the Wild earned a 4-3 shootout victory over the Royals and bumped their record for the year to 3-2-2-0. Victoria fell to 4-1-1-1 ahead of Saturday afternoon's rematch between the teams.

Wenatchee spent four minutes out of the game's first 6:34 on the power play, but a Zane Saab wrister off a pass from Ashton Brown out of the corner came in 5-on-5 play to give the Wild the lead 7:06 into the game. Victoria answered with 7:45 left in the period, when Brayden Boehm found a loose puck at the top of the goal crease and swiped it into the net for a power play goal, tying the game at 1-1.

Early in the second period, the Wild opened up a two-goal lead in just over a two-minute span - at 2:35 of the period, Evan Friesen banked in a power play goal off of Miles Cooper to put Wenatchee in front again, and at 4:39, Luka Shcherbyna sent a rocket past Spencer Michnik from above the faceoff circles to give the Wild the two-goal cushion.

Michnik exited the game, and Jayden Kraus looked on as the Royals' offense closed the gap in the third period. Teydon Trembecky scored off of a pass from Cole Reschny in front of Daniel Hauser at 7:28 of the third period, cutting the lead to 3-2. Hauser was injured on the play, and Nate Misskey scored with a wrist shot from the high slot with 6:03 to play, tying the game. After a scoreless overtime, Shcherbyna and Friesen scored in the shootout, while Stenvig turned away both of Victoria's opportunities.

"The first two periods, we did a lot of really good things," said Wild associate head coach Chris Clark. "We had to battle a little adversity there - obviously, Noah came in and played huge for us. Give him credit for coming in and playing the way he did, and giving us a chance to win. It was a really good hockey game between two good hockey teams. We'll clean up some mistakes we made, and get back after it (Saturday) - the most important thing is, we found a way to win."

Both teams improved their standing on the power play, as the Wild finished the night 1-for-5 on the man-advantage, while Victoria ended its evening at 2-for-8. Victoria's first-period power play goal ended Wenatchee's successful penalty-killing streak at 19 straight. Hauser finished 26-for-28 in net with the no-decision, while Stenvig made 14 saves in his first WHL victory. Kraus took the shootout loss despite going a perfect 18-for-18 in net through the end of overtime.

Shcherbyna scored a goal and an assist to lead the Wild offense, while Chase Bambrick picked up a pair of assists. Boehm had a goal and an assist for Victoria, with Reschny registering a pair of assists.

The teams get together again on Saturday afternoon, with the opening puck drop at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre scheduled for 4:05 p.m. The Wild return to home ice Friday, October 18 against the Kelowna Rockets for Wild About Awareness Night presented by Numerica - tickets for that game and all regular-season 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 Noah Stenvig on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Noah Stenvig on game night
(Austin Draude/Wenatchee Wild)		   

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