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WHL Wenatchee Wild

Tigers Prove Tough Tuesday Test in Wenatchee as Wild Fall, 5-2

January 29, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild forward Tye Spencer leads the line to the bench
Wenatchee Wild forward Tye Spencer leads the line to the bench
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - The Wenatchee Wild kept getting stronger as Tuesday's Western Hockey League tilt against the Medicine Hat Tigers went on. However, some quick strikes in the first period gave the Wild too big a gap to work against in a 5-2 final at Town Toyota Center, as the Tigers picked up their 10 th straight victory and stayed unbeaten on their U.S. Division road swing.

An odd carom off a Wenatchee stick led to Medicine Hat's first strike of the night, just 26 seconds out of the gate - Gavin McKenna's backdoor pass to Ryder Ritchie bounced off a Wild stick and past goaltender Brendan Gee, putting the Tigers ahead first. At the 8:03 mark of the first period, Mathew Ward sent home a one-timer from Hunter St. Martin to build the lead to two goals, and Oasiz Wiesblatt's forehand shot with 2:35 left in the period sent Medicine Hat to the dressing room with a 3-0 advantage.

Wenatchee answered back at 6:59 of the second, when Luka Shcherbyna snagged the puck in front of his bench before walking it to the right-wing faceoff circle and slipping a wrist shot through Jordan Switzer. A breakaway goal from Ritchie halfway through the period stretched the lead back to three goals ahead of the intermission.

20 minutes later, the Wild again trimmed the lead back to two goals - Caelan Joudrey dragged the puck around a defender on the left wing and let a wrist shot fly from the faceoff circle that bounced off Switzer and the back of Jonas Woo's leg, before being collected and deposited by Tye Spencer to cut the lead to 4-2.

The final goal came for Medicine Hat on a Wenatchee power play with 1:28 to play - with Gee on the bench for an extra attacker and a 6-on-4 opportunity, Wiesblatt skated the puck ahead to the Wild blue line before finding St. Martin to finish the empty-net tally.

Wiesblatt led all scorers with a goal and two assists, while St. Martin ended the night with one of each for the Tigers. Switzer earned his 18 th win of the season, making 23 saves. Gee made 20 saves in the loss for Wenatchee as both teams went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Wild moved to 17-24-3-1 on the season, while Medicine Hat bumped its mark to 31-14-2-0 for the season.

Tuesday's game was the last at home for the Wild until their "Hockey Is My Valentine" promotion February 14 against the Portland Winterhawks, presented by Carl's Jr. A stretch of seven straight road games is up next for Wenatchee, starting with a visit to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday. The opening puck drop at SaskTel Centre is scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific, with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live.

2025-26 season tickets go on sale February 4 - for more information, call 509-888-7825, or visit 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 forward Tye Spencer leads the line to the bench
Wenatchee Wild forward Tye Spencer leads the line to the bench
(Russ Alman)		   

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