Vanek Posts First Two WHL Goals Friday as Wild Roll to 6-3 Win
WHL Wenatchee Wild

Vanek Posts First Two WHL Goals Friday as Wild Roll to 6-3 Win

Published on November 8, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Michal Capos and Caden Campion on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Michal Capos and Caden Campion on game night
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - The Wenatchee Wild have doubtlessly been putting in the work throughout the season, with a young team full of Western Hockey League rookies - it was well-understood that while progress was being made, getting the results in the win column might take a little longer.

The Wild got a little extra help from three scorers making their debut on the season's score sheet Friday, as Blake Vanek and Shaun Rios each bagged their first two goals of the season in a 6-3 win over the Portland Winterhawks at Town Toyota Center. For Rios, the goals were his first of the season after netting 47 points for Wenatchee a year ago - for Vanek, they were his first two goals of any kind in a Wild uniform. Even Caden Campion got into the mix, punching in a shorthanded empty-net goal in the final minutes.

Rios gave Wenatchee its only goal of the first period at the 8:37 mark, jamming in a rebound off an initial shot from Michal Capos on the right wing. Both Wenatchee goals in the second period came on the power play, starting at 7:07 as Rios ran off with the puck down the left wing and rifled home a wrist shot in transition. Mason Kraft notched his first goal since October 18 with a power play tally at 16:13, zipping a wrist shot through from the left-wing circle.

Then, the scoring really picked up.

Vanek registered his first Wenatchee goal with a turnaround toss from the left-wing circle at 4:09 of the third period to stretch the Wild margin to four, but Nathan Free hammered a one-timer from the left wing on the power play at 8:29 to get Portland on the board. Vanek responded with his second goal with 6:33 remaining, punching in a one-timer on the doorstep following a setup pass from Luka Shcherbyna below the goal line. With 3:50 to go, Will McLaughlin roped a shot down the edge of the slot and past Tobias Tvrznik to cut the lead to 5-2.

With 2:53 to go, a 5-on-3 morphing into a 5-on-4 and an empty Winterhawks net, Josh Toll cleared the puck down the ice, banking it off the end boards for Campion to pitch in after exiting the penalty box. Max Psenicka set up an odd goal with 2:06 left, throwing a shot off the end glass and the top of the Wenatchee net - the puck trickled off of Tvrznik for Kyle McDonough to jab in, completing the scoring.

Toll wrapped up the night with three assists, while Vanek tacked one onto his two-goal haul. Tvrznik earned his fourth win of the year, making 32 saves, while the Wenatchee power play charged to a 2-for-6 finish and the Winterhawks went 3-for-10 on the power play.

The Wild won the duel at the faceoff dot decisively, 40-28, as Maddix McCagherty finished 9-for-13 on restarts and Shcherbyna went 9-for-15. Wenatchee climbed to 4-8-1-1 with the victory, while Portland saw its record dip to 9-8-0-0 for the year.

The five-game Wild homestand wraps up Saturday with the team's Military Appreciation Night against the Prince George Cougars, presented by CMI Orchards. Saturday's opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Tickets for Saturday's game and all regular-season Wild home games 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.

Check out the Wenatchee Wild Statistics

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Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild's Michal Capos and Caden Campion on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Michal Capos and Caden Campion on game night
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from November 8, 2025


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