Wenatchee Defeated by Vees Saturday Despite Disciplined Showing
WHL Wenatchee Wild

Wenatchee Defeated by Vees Saturday Despite Disciplined Showing

Published on March 8, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Aiden Grossklaus
Wenatchee Wild's Aiden Grossklaus
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - The Wenatchee Wild didn't have many positives to point to from their Western Hockey League game at the Penticton Vees on Friday - though the final outcome was the same in Saturday's rematch at Town Toyota Center, Wenatchee made perhaps its most disciplined showing of the season.

The Vees wrapped up the season series between the clubs with a 5-3 win, taking three of four meetings this year. However, they had to do so against a Wild power play that boasted a 2-for-6 finish and did not surrender a power play, the second time in three weeks that Wenatchee has gone without allowing a single man-advantage.

Wenatchee posted the game's first shot in the opening seconds, and also its first goal at 8:51 - with Penticton down two men, Josh Toll fed the puck across the slot on the power play, and Mason Kraft zipped a wrist shot to the top half of the net, putting the Wild ahead.

Penticton flipped the script quickly in the first - Matteo Danis tied the contest at 12:11, rolling a chance from the left-wing faceoff dot under Tobias Tvrznik to tie the game, and Callum Stone took the lead for the Vees 29 seconds later with a catch-and-release wrister down the slot. The visitors took a 3-1 lead to the dressing room, after Louis Wehmann snapped a one-timer at the edge of the slot from Samuel Drancak with 1:48 remaining in the period.

Almost as quickly as the Vees flipped the lead around in the first, the Wild erased that lead in the second - Caelan Joudrey sought Levi Benson for a transition chance in front of the net, instead sweeping the puck through Ethan McCallum from the right wing at 3:07 to cut the lead to one. 59 seconds later, that lead was gone, on a chance feathered on net from Toll at the left half-wall - Aiden Grossklaus got a tip on the puck in front of McCallum, sneaking it into the net to tie the game.

That goal led to McCallum's exit in favor of A.J. Reyelts, while Tvrznik would depart with an injury five-and-a-half minutes later.

Cal Conway stepped onto the ice and immediately proved himself worthy of the task, stopping five shots over the next four minutes before Tristan Petersen jammed the puck in on Conway's glove side to give the Vees their second lead. Wehmann gave the Vees a final tally at 5:54 of the third, tucking home a chance on the doorstep after Drancak slipped a pass to him behind the cage.

Toll's three assists led all scorers - those three helpers marked his sixth three-point game with the Wild, and fifth three-assist tally of the year. He extended his point streak to five games, tying a season-high, while Benson posted two assists to extend his run to four straight games with a point.

Luka Shcherbyna saw a four-game point streak halted, and Conway took the loss despite stopping 22 of 24 shots.

Reyelts turned away all 11 Wenatchee chances he saw, earning his 28th win. Wehmann's two goals led a trio of Penticton players with multi-point efforts, as Stone wrapped up with a goal and an assist, and Drancak notched a pair of assists. The Vees climbed to 41-13-4- 4 on the year, while Wenatchee moved to 23-34-3-2 with the loss.

Five of Wenatchee's last six games are on the road, starting with a visit to the Red Deer Rebels Tuesday night - the opening puck drop at Marchant Crane Centrium is slated for 6 p.m. Wenatchee time, with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+. Wenatchee's last home game of the year sees the Everett Silvertips stop by Friday, March 20 for the team's FANtastic FANale presented by Ag Supply.

Tickets for Wenatchee's two remaining regular-season home games Saturday and March 20, as well as 2026-27 season tickets, 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 Aiden Grossklaus
Wenatchee Wild's Aiden Grossklaus
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from March 8, 2026


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