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WHL Wenatchee Wild

Sward Scores Two, But Silvertips Surge Sunday for 7-3 Win

January 15, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Maddix McCagherty congratulated by team
Wenatchee Wild's Maddix McCagherty congratulated by team
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - Wenatchee Wild fans spent the last 40 minutes of Sunday's game on the lookout for a hat trick, and got to witness a new face on the roster pick up his first goal with his new group.

There were definitely moments in Sunday's game against the Everett Silvertips worth celebrating. Unfortunately, a Silvertip surge in the second half of Sunday's game sent the visitors to a 7-3 win, with Everett scoring six straight goals to close the game.

Graham Sward had the fans and their hats on notice after the first period, bouncing home a shot off the crossbar just 4:01 into the game, and snapping in a one-timer in front of the net with just 3.3 seconds left in the stanza. In between his goals, Beau Courtney beat a stick-lift bid from Brayden Pankey to send a shot to the top of the Wild net at the 12:51 mark, giving Wenatchee a 2-1 lead at the intermission. The Wild were also dominant at the faceoff dot in the opening 20 minutes, winning 11 of the 14 restarts in the first period before cleanly snagging the opening draw of the second period as well.

Maddix McCagherty picked up his first goal in a Wild uniform less than four minutes into the second period, after Rodzers Bukarts pirouetted a pass to him in the Everett zone, and his backhand toss under the bar made it a 3-1 game. The Silvertips used a pair of power play goals to turn the tide in their favor, halving the lead on a marker from Dominik Rymon at 6:07 of the second period, and tying it on Teague Patton's tally at 12:41.

The Silvertips continued the scoring run with 1:32 left in the period when Carter Bear sent a wrist shot to the top of the net, and Everett went to the second intermission ahead 4-3. Julius Miettinen pushed the lead to two goals with a redirect in front of the Wild net at 3:38 of the third, before getting a give-and-go tip-in from Rymon with 9:54 left and a second goal from Miettinen with 3:18 remaining.

"Getting up two goals early in the second was huge," said associate head coach Chris Clark. "We kind of took our foot off the gas with some untimely penalties, and that turned the tide. That was their third game in three nights - we've got to stay out of the box and make them come 200 feet, and the second half of the game, we didn't do a great job of that."

Sward and Kenta Isogai had the only multi-point games for Wenatchee, with Isogai notching two assists. Miettinen paced the Everett offense with two goals and two assists, while Patton closed the night with a goal and two assists. Rymon picked up a pair of goals in the game as well, as Everett finished 2-for-5 on the power play and turned aside both Wild power plays on the night.

Daniel Hauser stopped 38 Silvertip shots, seeing his record fall to 15-10-2-0 for the season, while Tyler Palmer earned his 17th win of the year behind a 25-save performance. The Wild saw their home record dip to 17-4 and the overall record move to 24-14-3-0, while Everett bumped its record to 27-14-1-2 and climbed back to .500 away from home.

A seven-game Wenatchee homestand continues Tuesday for Hard Hats and Hockey "Construction Night" against the Kamloops Blazers, presented by Building NCW and the Central Washington Home Builders' Association, with the opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center scheduled for 6 p.m. Tickets for that game and all home regular-season contests are on sale now at 509-888-7825, or by visiting the team office at Town Toyota Center.

2024 Wild playoff packages go on sale Monday morning, as do 2024-25 season tickets for Wenatchee's second season in the Western Hockey League. 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

Wenatchee Wild's Maddix McCagherty congratulated by team
Wenatchee Wild's Maddix McCagherty congratulated by team
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from January 15, 2024


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