Wild Bows In Shootout
Published on November 21, 2010 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
SOLDOTNA, Alaska. - The Wenatchee Wild came back twice from 2-goal deficits against the Kenai River Brown Bears Saturday night at the Soldotna Sports Center in Soldotna, Alaska, only to lose in a shootout, 4-3. It was the Wild's second straight extra-session loss to the Brown Bears in as many days.
The Brown Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest when Dominic Granato sailed a shot over the left shoulder of Wild goaltender Brandon Jaeger (Champlin, Minn.). The Brown Bears went on to claim a 2-goal lead 19 seconds prior to the midpoint of the first frame when Brett Lubanski scored on a rebound off a shot by Erik Persson from the blue line during their first power play of the night.
Wenatchee got back into the game in the second period. Eliot Grauer (Mukioteo, Wash.) got the Wild on the scoreboard at the 11:19 mark. After a Brown Bears turnover just beyond their blue line, the Wild went into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 that culminated with Grauer's 10th goal of the season. Max McHugh (Edgewood, Wash.) and Ben Carey (Centennial, Colo.) assisted. McHugh would go on to tie up the game, 2-2, late in the second period on assists by Michael Di Puma (Chicago, Ill.) and Carey.
The two teams each scored a pair of goals in the third period. Kenai River opened scoring in the frame when Erick Ware scored his team's second power-play marker of the night on a slap shot from the blue line. Bobby Murphy increased the Brown Bears' lead to 4-2 just over six minutes later when he capitalized on a rebound.
The Wild refused to give in even when faced with its second 2-goal deficit in the contest. Tyler Hope (McKinney, Texas) got the Wild within a goal when he tapped in Chris Rumble's (Chesapeake, Va.) shot from the point during a man-advantage. Di Puma picked up his second assist of the game on the sequence. Zachary Wallace (Burbank, Calif.) set Grauer up for the game-tying goal at the 13:52 mark of the third frame after a long stay in the Kenai River zone. Blake Saylor (Centennial, Colo.) also assisted on Grauer's second goal of the game.
The game went to a shootout after a scoreless overtime session. In the shootout, the Wild's fifth shooter, McHugh, scored 5-hole to tie the session, 3-3. However, the Brown Bears' final shooter, Sean Muller, beat Jaeger on a left-to-right deke to seal the win for his team.
Jaeger made 20 saves on 24 shots. Kenai River netminder Mathias Dahlstrom turned aside 39 of the 43 shots Wenatchee peppered him with. Each team scored two power-play goals. The Wild had six power-play opportunities while the Brown Bears had four chances.
Grauer led the Wild with two goals while McHugh scored a goal and an assist. Di Puma and Carey each chipped in with a pair of assists. Murphy and Ware each scored a goal and an assist for the Brown Bears.
Wenatchee (13-9-2) concluded its 6-game Alaskan road trip tonight. The Wild will return home to the Town Toyota Center for a 2-game series against the Chicago Hitmen next weekend (Nov. 26-27). Both games are slated to begin at 7:05 p.m.
North American Hockey League Stories from November 21, 2010
- Stars Rout St. Louis, Take Series - Traverse City North Stars
- Wild Bows In Shootout - Wenatchee Wild
- Red Hot 'Runners Make It Five Straight - Topeka Pilots
- Oh Snap! 'Runners End Tornado Streak - Topeka Pilots
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