Wenatchee Grabs Early Lead Sunday, But Seattle Vets Help Team Surge for 3-2 Shootout Win
WHL Wenatchee Wild

Wenatchee Grabs Early Lead Sunday, But Seattle Vets Help Team Surge for 3-2 Shootout Win

Published on January 19, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild forward Caelan Joudrey
Wenatchee Wild forward Caelan Joudrey
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - This weekend has been an especially busy one for the Wenatchee Wild.

With three games on the weekend and 12 total hours of travel for Saturday's swing to Kamloops, British Columbia, the Wild battled through heavy legs Sunday evening in their final get-together of the year against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Wenatchee was fresh enough to grab a 2-0 lead before Seattle's veterans seized control and helped their team surge to a 3-2 shootout victory at Town Toyota Center. The win was the first for a road team in the head-to-head series since February 16 of last year, after six straight wins for the home team.

With Wenatchee wearing its blue jerseys, the team's blueliners got to work early - a left-point shot from Boston Tait appeared to clip Mathias Silaban in front of the net and skip past Thunderbirds goaltender Grayson Malinoski, putting the Wild ahead just 3:37 into the contest. A similar shot from Josh Toll above the slot tipped off of Caelan Joudrey's stick at the front of the net 6:56 into the game, giving the hosts an early 2-0 advantage.

Seattle made it a battle with 3:29 left in the second period, when Brock England fed a pass out front for a one-timer from Simon Lovsin to cut the lead to a goal. Cameron Schmidt swept up the puck and ran it to the Wild net for a goal just six seconds out of the intermission, tying the game at 2-2.

The teams dueled through the next 25 minutes without netting another goal - Schmidt tallied the shootout winner in the second round, sending one to the top of the net against Tobias Tvrznik. Wenatchee did not score in its three opportunities.

Toll and Luka Shcherbyna each notched assists in the game, as Toll remained two points ahead in the race for the team scoring lead. Tvrznik made 40 saves in the loss, while Malinoski earned his fifth win of the year behind a 32-save performance. The penalty kills combined to end the night perfect on six chances.

Seattle climbed to 17-19-3-2 with Sunday's win, grabbing its fourth road win of the season and pulling even with Vancouver for the 10 th -place spot in the Western Conference standings. The Wild earned a standings point despite the loss, seeing their record move to 17-24-1-2 coming out of the weekend.

Sunday's game was the start of a four-game Wild homestand, with Kamloops set to make the trip to Wenatchee Friday to wrap up their four-game season series. The opening puck drop for Wenatchee's Olympic Night game against the Blazers is slated for 7 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+.

Tickets for Friday'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 forward Caelan Joudrey
Wenatchee Wild forward Caelan Joudrey
(Russ Alman)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2026


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