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WHL Wenatchee Wild

Special Teams Soar Tuesday, Wild Win 5-2 as Home Hot Streak Continues

October 25, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Kamloops Blazers' Emmitt Finnie and Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie in action
Kamloops Blazers' Emmitt Finnie and Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie in action
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - When the Wenatchee Wild say they got contributions up and down the lineup on Tuesday night against the Kamloops Blazers, they mean it.

The Wild notched a 5-2 win over the Blazers, charging back to .500 for the season and running their record on home ice to 4-1, earning their third straight victory at Town Toyota Center after wrapping up their season-long eight-game road swing.

The special teams got into the action, and did so early - 5:48 into the first period and 35 seconds into the game's first man-advantage, Conor Geekie stuffed a power play goal into the top corner of the net for a 1-0 Wenatchee advantage. The Blazers took advantage of a 5-on-3 and a collision at the net five minutes later, though, and Dylan Sydor jammed the puck into the cage for a 1-1 score.

Wenatchee got that goal back in the second period, and the game was never tied again - Graham Sward weaved all the way through the traffic in Kamloops's defensive zone and slid the puck past Jesse Sanche's right pad to give the Wild the lead 3:35 out of the break. Karter Prosofsky put the power play back on the board at the 12:31 mark, rocketing a one-timer from the left point to make it 3-1.

Sydor put the Blazers back on the board with a redirect on Ryan Michael's goal at the 1:43 mark of the third, but Wenatchee needed just 17 seconds to get the goal back as Hayden Moore earned his first Western Hockey League goal and pushed the lead to 4-2. Evan Friesen scored on a rebound at 4:25 of the third, giving the Wild their final margin and their biggest lead of the night.

"The power play getting one early was good, and the penalty kill was good," said Wild associate head coach Chris Clark. "We've been making great progress in those two areas, and I'm real proud of the group. I think we're all real proud of the group - that one could have gotten away from us tonight, we stuck with it and our guys were rewarded because of it."

Sward had a goal and two assists to lead the scoring for Wenatchee, extending his scoring streak to 11 straight games to open the season, while Prosofsky and Geekie each added an assist to their power play goals. The special teams were outstanding once again for the hosts, going 2-for-3 on both the power play and the penalty kill.

Daniel Hauser celebrated his 100th WHL appearance by making 37 saves to pick up his fourth win of the year and 82nd of his career, tying Taylor Dakers for second in ICE and Wild team history and putting him within three of the team record. Briley Wood finished without a point for the first time this season, seeing his point streak end at nine games.

A brief road trip to Everett on Friday will be the lone interruption to a six-game homestand for Wenatchee, with the opening puck drop at Angel of the Winds Arena slated for 7:05 p.m. Live coverage is available on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live.

Wenatchee returns to home ice on Saturday for HOWL-oween against the Kelowna Rockets, presented by the Kenady Group. Tickets for that game and all Wenatchee Wild home regular-season contests are on sale now 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, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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Images from this story

Kamloops Blazers' Emmitt Finnie and Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie in action
Kamloops Blazers' Emmitt Finnie and Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie in action
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from October 25, 2023


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