Wenatchee Battles out of Two-Goal Hole Friday, But Victoria Delivers in Overtime for 5-4 Win
WHL Wenatchee Wild

Wenatchee Battles out of Two-Goal Hole Friday, But Victoria Delivers in Overtime for 5-4 Win

Published on October 4, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Caelan Joudrey in action
Wenatchee Wild's Caelan Joudrey in action
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - Against an early-season frontrunner in the Western Hockey League's B.C. Division, the Wenatchee Wild had a chance to flip a two-goal deficit against the Victoria Royals into their first win of the season Friday evening at Town Toyota Center. They completed the comeback, and they nearly completed the mission.

Caelan Joudrey delivered a game-tying goal with 3:43 remaining in regulation, but Hayden Moore whizzed a transition shot past Cal Conway 82 seconds into overtime to spoil Wenatchee's bid, taking a 5-4 victory for the Royals' third win of the season. Wenatchee dropped to 0-1-1-1 with the loss.

Victoria opened the scoring with 5:21 left in the first period, when Heath Nelson's turnaround throw toward the net ticked off of Miles Cooper near the back post and into the net, putting the Royals in front, 1-0. They carried the one-goal margin to the second period - at 8:55, Roan Woodward's long-distance shot on the power play bounded out to the right circle for Hayden Moore to put away to push the lead to two.

Time and again, Wenatchee would barge back into the game - with 6:42 left in the period, Boston Tait's shot from the left-wing circle rebounded off Victoria netminder Ethan Eskit - Maddix McCagherty's flick of the wrist near the back post dropped the lead to 2-1.

The Royals struck again on the power play with 1:47 left in the second period, when Reggie Newman drove the puck to the net on a Victoria power play, and Woodward deposited the second chance after a poke check to send the visitors to the dressing room with a 3-1 lead. However, 3:10 into the third, Luka Shcherbyna followed his own point-blank chance off a faceoff in the Royals' end by flipping the puck into the roof of the net to trim the lead to 3-2.

Just before the halfway mark of the third, Ashton Brown hit Cooper for a wrist shot from the left wing that hit the top corner of the cage, giving Victoria its final two-goal lead of the game. However, the final comeback started less than a minute later - Josh Fluker's shot from the high slot popped past Eskit with 9:08 to play, putting Wenatchee within a 4-3 margin. Joudrey's game-tying goal came off of a pass from Blake Vanek that snuck down the left-wing boards and onto Joudrey's stick before he walked it to the front of the net and directed a wrist shot past Eskit into the top half of the net. Moore's goal was the only shot on net in overtime for either team.

Tait and Vanek each had two assists to lead Wenatchee, with Vanek earning his first points in a Wild uniform. Moore added an assist to his two goals, while Woodward picked up a goal and an assist, and Cooper finished with a pair of goals. Nelson earned a pair of assists, and Eskit turned aside 29 Wenatchee shots to earn his second win of the season.

Conway denied 35 Royals shots to give Wenatchee a standings point in his WHL debut. Entering the game with the WHL's top power play, the Royals wrapped up the night 2-for-8 on the man-advantage, while the penalty kill stopped all three Wild opportunities.

Wenatchee visits Tri-City on Saturday evening as the Americans celebrate their home opener, before returning home for Sunday's Mom and Son Night against the Penticton Vees. Saturday's game at Toyota Center in Kennewick is scheduled for a 6:05 p.m. puck drop, with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and streaming on Victory+.

Tickets for Sunday's game and all regular-season 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 Caelan Joudrey in action
Wenatchee Wild's Caelan Joudrey in action
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from October 4, 2025


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