Tvrznik Stops Franchise-Record 60 Shots Saturday, But Everett Snags 4-3 Shootout Win
WHL Wenatchee Wild

Tvrznik Stops Franchise-Record 60 Shots Saturday, But Everett Snags 4-3 Shootout Win

Published on September 21, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild on game night
Wenatchee Wild on game night
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Evan Morud/Everett Silvertips)

EVERETT, Wash. - The Everett Silvertips poured the pressure on the Wenatchee Wild in the Western Hockey League season opener for both teams Saturday night at Angel of the Winds Arena. Through it all, Tobias Tvrznik was nearly good enough to will his team to a win anyway.

Wenatchee's Czech import goaltender tied a 29-year-old franchise record with 60 saves, as the Wild opened the 2025-26 campaign with a 4-3 shootout loss to the defending WHL regular-season champions. In order to take the two points, Everett had to battle back from a 3-0 deficit after Wenatchee cranked out two power play goals in the first period, and snagged another one from Luka Shcherbyna at even strength early in the second.

Kraft found Shcherbyna again in the opening minutes of the second, feeding the puck to the back post for Shcherbyna to punch in just 1:55 out of the intermission. The three-goal lead held until the 14:15 mark of the period, when Zackary Shantz scraped in a second chance, cutting the lead to 3-1. Shantz would strike twice in the third period, dragging a forehand shot through at 1:49, and tying the game off a backdoor feed to the net at the 7:06 mark.

Tvrznik stopped all six Silvertips chances in overtime, but Nolan Chastko's marker in the sixth round of the shootout was the difference-maker. Kraft and Shcherbyna scored in the second and third rounds of the shootout for the Wild, while Matias Vanhanen and Shantz did the same for the Silvertips on their second- and third-round shots.

Kraft finished the night with three assists, leading all Wenatchee scorers. Shcherbyna added two goals and Seitz tacked an assist on to his power play goal. Jesse Heslop had two assists for Everett, in addition to Shantz's natural hat trick.

Wenatchee's power play got off to an impressive start, going 2-for-5 and scoring on its first two man-advantages of the season. Everett finished the game at 1-for-4 with the extra man, and finished with a 41-29 edge at the faceoff dot.

Raiden LeGall opened his season with a win behind 25 saves, but Tvrznik's stat line was the headliner, marking the first 60-save performance for the WHL club since Tim Winters set the original mark in a 1996 Edmonton ICE game against the Portland Winterhawks. 23 of Tvrznik's saves came in the third period alone.

Wenatchee opens its season with a 0-0-0-1 mark, and will follow Saturday's tilt with its own home opener against the Silvertips, presented by Town Toyota, this coming Saturday. The opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center is slated for 6 p.m.

Single-game tickets are now available for all 34 Wenatchee Wild home dates this year, and 2025-26 season tickets also remain on sale - 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.

Check out the Wenatchee Wild Statistics

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Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild on game night
Wenatchee Wild on game night
(Evan Morud/Everett Silvertips)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from September 21, 2025


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