Wild Advance to West Division Finals
April 9, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
PALMER, Alaska - The Wenatchee Wild went 0-4 in the regularseason at Palmer Ice Arena, the Alaska Avalanche's home barn. The Wild avengedits regular-season woes Friday by earning the only win at the Palmer Ice Arenathat mattered - a 4-2 victory in Game 3 of the West Division semifinals. TheWild swept the Avalanche with the win and earned a berth in the West Divisionfinals.
Wenatchee will meet the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the divisionalfinals. Fairbanks, the regular-season West Division champion, advanced to thedivisional finals Friday after sweeping the Kenai River Brown Bears in the WestDivision's other semifinal series.
Alaska took its first lead in the series 6:10 into the firstperiod when Zach Smith scored a 5-on-3 power-play goal from Andy Pearson andDaniel Senkbeil. The Wild got even a little over 10 minutes later when Michael Di Puma (Chicago, Ill.) burieda rebound from the slot past Landon Peterson. Jacob Barber (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) and Bradley Shumway (Lafayette, Colo.) assisted.
The Wild took the lead 8:24 into the second period a momentafter a man-advantage expired when MaxMcHugh (Edgewood, Wash.) lit the lamp. Codyvon Rueden (Northbrook, Ill.) and D.J.Vandercook (Farmington Hills, Mich.) assisted.
Matt Cope (Lakewood,Colo.) gave the Wenatchee a critical 2-goal lead 77 seconds into the thirdstanza when on assists from von Rueden and Di Puma. Alaska got back into thecontest briefly after a neutral zone turnover by Wenatchee that led to ashort-handed goal by Eliot Grauer. Matt Friese assisted.
The Wild took the momentum right back from the Avs 25seconds after Grauer's marker when ShawnPauly (Bellingham, Wash.) banged in a power-play marker from Di Puma and Chris Rumble (Chesapeake, Va.).
Di Puma, a catalyst for the Wild this series, added threemore points to his playoff total Friday night with a goal and two helpers. VonRueden recorded two assists.
Brandon Jaeger(Champlin, Minn.) absorbed 16-of-18 shots to improve to 3-0 in the 2011playoffs. Peterson made 15 saves on 19 shots.
North American Hockey League Stories from April 9, 2011
- Tornado fall in overtime as Amarillo wins playoff series - Texas Tornado
- Stars eliminated, 5-0 - Traverse City North Stars
- 'Runners Find Scoring Touch, Lead Series 2-1 - Topeka Pilots
- Bulls Get 2nd Chance To Close Out Series Tonight - Amarillo Bulls
- Bulls Fall to Tornado 6-4, Still Lead Series 2-1 - Amarillo Bulls
- Wild Advance to West Division Finals - Wenatchee Wild
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
