Wenatchee Wild Playoff Preview
March 29, 2010 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
Kenai River Brown Bears v. Wenatchee Wild
Game 1: Friday, April 2 - 7:05 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 - 7:05 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday, April 4 - 5:05 p.m.
Game 4 (if necessary): Tuesday, April 6 - 6:35 p.m.
Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, April 7 - 6:35 p.m.
All games will be played at Town Toyota Center
Game Promotions
Game 1: Rally towels will be given away to the first 4,000 fans in attendance.
Game 2: A Harley rally is planned before the game.
Game 3: Christian recording artist Holly Starr will be on hand for a special performance. Hot dogs and Pepsi can be purchased for $1 apiece. A free Easter egg will be provided for the first 500 kids in attendance, and five lucky kids will win a special Wild Easter basket.
Get Your Playoff Tickets Now
Playoff and Robertson Cup tickets are selling quickly. Get yours before they're sold out. To order tickets, call 1-888-PUCK (7825) or log on to www.wenatcheewild.com
Overall Records
Brown Bears: 12-40-6 - 30 points, .259 winning percentage, 4th place West Division
Wild: 45-10-3 - 93 points, .802 winning percentage; Regular-Season NAHL Champ; Regular-Season West Division Champ
Wild Clinch Regular-Season Championship
The Wild entered its final series of the regular-season against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs over the weekend under an extraordinary circumstance: Sweep the series and earn the regular-season NAHL championship. The Wild rose to the occasion and played perhaps their best hockey of the season.
Wenatchee won the first game of the series, 4-1.
Dajon Mingo (Canton, Mich.) and Nathan Sliwinski (Castle Rock, Col.) each had a goal and an assist in the first game of the series, and Brendan Jensen (El Granada, Calif.) stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced for his 10th win of the season.
The Wild won the second game, 6-1.
"We are proud of our players for winning the regular-season championship," said Wild associate head coach Ryan McKelvie. "It is an excellent accomplishment as it shows the team's performance over a lengthy 58-game regular season.
"(Winning the NAHL regular-season championship) was one team goal that we had that is now completed."
Brandon Burrell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) had three assists in the second game of the series. Michael Di Puma (Chicago, Ill.) and Jordan Young (Cave Creek, Ariz.) each scored a goal and an assist, and Brandon Jaeger (Champlin, Minn.) stopped 19-of-20 shots for his 22nd win of the season.
Of course, the Wild don't have time to celebrate.
"Our focus now is on winning the West Division championship and playing our best hockey heading into the Robertson Cup," McKelvie said.
Jubinville, Flynn Sit
Wild leading-scorer Jeff Jubinville (Edmonton, AB) and Jake Flynn (Wenatchee, Wash.) did not play in the Wild's final regular-season series due to minor injuries. Both are expected to make quick returns.
Timar Named POW
Wild forward Ryan Timar (Novi, Mich.) was named the Sherwood/NAHL West Player of the Week on Monday after playing a key role in the Wild winning the NAHL regular-season title. Timar scored two goals and three assists last week, and the Wild won three of four games on the road. Timar, acquired from Alpena in Feb., has 12 points (6G, 6A) in 13 games with the Wild.
Mingo Joins 50-Point Club
Mingo reached the 50-point mark in Wenatchee's final series of the regular season against Fairbanks. He scored a goal and an assist in the Wild's 4-1 win on Friday. He added another goal the following night to finish the regular-season with 52 points (21G, 31A). Mingo, acquired from Kenai River in Nov., scored 13 goals and 20 assists (33 points) in 34 regular-season games with the Wild.
Puck Stops Here
Jaeger concluded the regular-season with the best goals-against average (1.83) and save percentage (.928) in the league. He posted a record of 22-3-1 with three shutouts.
Brodie Third Among Defensemen
Wild defenseman Kyle Brodie (Northglenn, Col.) finished the regular-season with 38 points (13G, 25A), the third most among all NAHL defensemen, in 50 games.
Wild Streaks
Duncan McKellar (Phoenix, Ariz.) is riding a 5-game points streak dating back to March 20, when he scored a goal in the Wild's 6-1 win over Kenai River. McKellar had 32 points (14G, 18A) in the regular season in 49 games.
Timar is on a 4-game points streak that began on March 23 against Alaska.
Top Scoring Threats
Brown Bears: Forward Johan Skinnars led his team with 48 regular-season points (23G, 25A). ... Forward Brad Duwe was the team's second leading points-getter in the regular season with 34 points (16G, 18A).
Wild: Jubinville, who finished the regular-season tied as the 12th leading scorer in the league, led the Wild with 54 regular-season points (27G, 27A). ... Mingo was right behind with 52 points (21G, 31A).
Brown Bears v. Wild
Wenatchee went 11-1 against Kenai River in the regular-season. ... The Brown Bears' lone win against the Wild came on Oct. 1, 4-3, at the Town Toyota Center. ... Since that loss, the Wild have gone 11-0 against the Brown Bears, sweeping four series along the way. ... The most recent series between the two clubs was last week (March 19-20). Wenatchee won the first game, 5-3, and the second game, 6-1. ... The Wild has outscored the Brown Bears, 52-23.
Against the Brown Bears this season - Jubinville leads the Wild with 15 points (7G, 8A). ... Mingo and Shawn Pauly have 11 and 10 points, respectively. ... Jaeger is 8-0 with one shutout, a 1.61 goals-against average and a save percentage of .937.
Against the Wild this season - Skinnars and Duwe have seven points apiece.
Records in Detail
Kenai River is 2-6-2 in its last 10 games and 1-4-0 in its last five games. The Brown Bears were 6-21-2 on home ice during the regular season and 6-19-4 on the road.
Wenatchee is 8-2 in its last 10 games and 4-1 in its last five games. During the regular season, the Wild were 24-4-1 at the Town Toyota Center and 21-6-2 on the road.
Special Teams Breakdown
Kenai River concluded the regular-season with the sixth best power play in the league with an 18.9 percent success rate. Wenatchee's power play was the third best at the end of the regular-season (21 percent).
The Brown Bears finished the regular-season with the 17th-ranked penalty-kill in the NAHL at 79.7 percent. The Wild owned the third best penalty-killing unit at 87.5 percent.
All statistics and standings are through March 28, 2010
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