Special Teams Push Spokane Past Wenatchee in 6-2 Contest Friday

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Wenatchee Wild

Special Teams Push Spokane Past Wenatchee in 6-2 Contest Friday

December 7, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Zane Saab battles Spokane Chiefs' Saige Weinstein
Wenatchee Wild's Zane Saab battles Spokane Chiefs' Saige Weinstein
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - Special teams ended up an especially important part of the storyline at Town Toyota Center on Friday.

The Wenatchee Wild grabbed an early lead, but the Spokane Chiefs scored three goals on special teams - two on the power play and one shorthanded - to snag a 6-2 victory in Western Hockey League play, their seventh consecutive win and eighth in their last nine outings. The Chiefs' leading scorers hit the score sheet often in Friday's U.S. Division clash, with Shea Van Olm posting a hat trick and leading scorer Berkly Catton notching three assists.

However, the game started with the Wild in front - just 4:44 into the contest, a pass from Zane Saab caught Shaun Rios in the right-wing circle, and Rios's wrist shot beat Dawson Cowan for a 1-0 lead. Van Olm scored his first goal at 11:25 on a short distance rebound to tie the game, and added a second tally with 1:05 left in the first period with a backhand wraparound on the power play to make it a 2-1 game going to the intermission.

Where the offenses took advantage of limited opportunities in the first 20 minutes, with three goals on 13 total shots, the goaltending shined in the middle period - the teams combined for 27 shots on net, but were stymied at every turn. Spokane extended the lead in the opening minutes of the third, though, starting with a shorthanded goal on a tap-in from Rasmus Ekstrom on the rush at the 40-second mark. Van Olm completed the hat trick with a transition wrister from the right circle at 1:46, and Chase Harrington grabbed a loose puck and tossed it in with a backhand chance at 10:17 for a four-goal Chiefs advantage.

Wenatchee got one back with 4:12 to go, when Dawson Seitz let a wrist shot fly from above the left-wing faceoff dot to push the lead back to 5-2. However, Ekstrom's second goal came on a one-timer that sneaked just under the crossbar with 1:17 to go, giving the Chiefs one last power play goal and a four-goal final margin.

"You have to manage the puck against Spokane," said associate head coach Chris Clark. "That's where they're going to hurt you, other than their power play, which was very good for them again tonight. You can't give them a short track - you've got to make them come 200 feet for their chances, and I thought that was an area that we definitely need to clean up. I think when we're playing our best, we're forechecking and taking care of the puck, establishing our identity, and I just thought we didn't do that for long enough. The beauty of hockey is, we get another crack at it again tomorrow, and obviously it'll be a big night in their building with Teddy Bear Toss night. We've got to make sure we're ready to go right from the hop."

Brayden Crampton led all scorers with four points, all on assists, while Ekstrom picked up two goals and an assist. Cowan stopped 26 of 28 Wenatchee shots, earning his 15 th win of the year as the Chiefs moved to 19-9-0-0 for the season. Spokane also went 2-for-4 on the power play and was perfect on four penalty-killing chances, ending a Wenatchee run of 12 consecutive games with a power play goal. Kenta Isogai saw an eight-game point streak come to an end as the Wild came off the ice at 9-13-3-1 for the year.

The teams will do battle again Saturday at Spokane Arena, with the opening puck drop scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Live coverage is available on WHL Live and Newsradio 560 KPQ. Wenatchee returns to home ice against the Everett Silvertips on Sunday for its annual Teddy Bear Toss, presented by the Kenady Group. 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 Zane Saab battles Spokane Chiefs' Saige Weinstein
Wenatchee Wild's Zane Saab battles Spokane Chiefs' Saige Weinstein
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   

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