Spokane Surges in Third, Takes 4-2 Win over Wild to Close Weekend
WHL Wenatchee Wild

Spokane Surges in Third, Takes 4-2 Win over Wild to Close Weekend

Published on February 16, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild goaltender Cal Conway
Wenatchee Wild goaltender Cal Conway
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - The Wenatchee Wild entered Sunday's Western Hockey League game against the Spokane Chiefs off a 3-2 win against an up-and-down Chiefs club on its home ice less than 24 hours before. With 20 minutes remaining in Sunday's game at Town Toyota Center, the Wild held a one-goal lead and stood within reach of a three-game win streak and an even split in the season series.

The final 20 minutes were one of those "up" times for Spokane.

Owen Martin scored on the rush just 11 seconds into the third period, lighting the fuse for a three-goal final stanza as the Chiefs surged to a 4-2 victory. Spokane won all three in the 2025-26 series in Wenatchee, though the Wild grabbed wins in two of three on the road against the defending Western Conference champions.

Spokane posted nine of the game's first 12 shots on Sunday, including eight in a row in the first period, but Cal Conway weathered early pressure in the Wenatchee net, and the teams maintained a scoreless tie going to the second period. With the Wild on their second penalty kill of the night, Martin played the rebound off a left-wing shot from Dominik Petr and put away the second chance 50 seconds out of the intermission to give the Chiefs the initial lead.

Wenatchee turned the tables later in the period - at 5:35 of the second, Brandon Osborne and Grady Wedman swept the puck back to the left point for Boston Tait, who walked it to the top of the left-wing circle and roped a shot past Carter Esler to tie the game at 1-1. At the 9:20 mark, Mason Kraft found Nolan Caffey on the right wing, and his wrister from the faceoff circle zipped through to put Wenatchee ahead at the break.

Martin's short-side chance from the right wing evened the game up in the opening seconds of the third, giving him a pair of goals on the night. Chase Harrington also ended up with two for Spokane, taking the lead off a forehand drag and a wrist shot from the right circle at 7:18. With 2:16 to go, his second goal of the game came from the left wing off a drop-back pass from Brody Gillespie.

Martin and Harrington were joined by Will McIsaac and Rhett Sather, who had a pair of assists each. The Chiefs finished 4-for-5 on special teams, including a 3-for-3 mark on the penalty kill, and Esler climbed back to .500 on the season with 24 saves. Conway had a solid line of his own in Sunday's game, making 30 saves in the loss.

Wenatchee moved to 21-29-3-2 on the season, while Spokane climbed back above .500 at 27-26-1-0. With the win, the Chiefs stepped ahead of the Tri-City Americans and pulled even with Portland for the sixth spot in the Western Conference race. Despite Sunday's defeat, the Wild remain just seven points back of Tri-City, who now holds the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

Two games at the Victoria Royals await the Wild this Friday and Saturday - Friday's opening puck drop at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+. Wenatchee returns to home ice Saturday, February 28 for its annual Hockey Fights Cancer game, presented by Confluence Health.

Tickets for that game and all remaining regular-season Wild home games, as well as 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

Wenatchee Wild goaltender Cal Conway
Wenatchee Wild goaltender Cal Conway

(Russ Alman)
  



Western Hockey League Stories from February 16, 2026


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