Wild Close November, End Tri-City Win Streak with 5-2 Victory Saturday

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Wenatchee Wild

Wild Close November, End Tri-City Win Streak with 5-2 Victory Saturday

November 30, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Evan Friesen battles Tri-City Americans' Lukas Matecha and Maxmilian Curran
Wenatchee Wild's Evan Friesen battles Tri-City Americans' Lukas Matecha and Maxmilian Curran
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: John Keller/Tri-City Americans)

KENNEWICK, Wash. - Talk about finishing strong.

The Wenatchee Wild piled up four goals in the final 20 minutes of their Western Hockey League matchup with the Tri-City Americans, and closed the month of November with a 5-2 victory on Saturday evening at Toyota Center. The win ended a five-game Americans winning streak, and clinched a winning record for the Wild over the course of the month.

Tri-City didn't wait long to put its stamp on the game, as Carter MacAdams found Gavin Garland for a wrist shot just inside the left circle for the game's opening goal 54 seconds in. The Americans held the lead for 25 minutes, but Wenatchee took advantage of a takeaway at the blue line six minutes into the second, and potted a wrist shot from Reid Andresen in the slot off a pass from Maddix McCagherty to tie the game.

The Wild made their move in the opening four minutes of the third period, starting with a toss from Evan Friesen on the right-wing boards at the 31-second mark that clipped Kenta Isogai on its way into the net past Lukas Matecha. The power play came through again 3:39 into the period when Friesen walked the puck into the left-wing faceoff circle and zipped a wrist shot through for a 3-1 lead.

The Americans put together an assembly line to move the puck to Nick Anisimovicz for his wrist-shot marker out front at 4:51 of the period, but Shaun Rios made the most of his return to the Tri-Cities halfway through the period by setting up Zane Saab on the rush to stretch the Wild lead back to two goals. Matecha went to the bench for the extra attacker in the game's final minutes, but Isogai took advantage of the empty net by jousting the puck down into the goal from the edge of the Wenatchee bench.

"It took everyone (tonight)," said Wild assistant coach Dan Johnston. "It was a tough feeling after the game last night down the final stretch, but everybody competed really hard the last two games. To come into this building tonight, we needed everyone, and we got a full effort. We had some really strong penalty kills, and the power play gave us an opportunity in the third, and we took the momentum from there."

Isogai led the scoring with two goals and an assist, while Andresen added two assists to his second-period goal, and Friesen closed the night with a goal and an assist. Isogai's appearance on the score sheet was his eighth straight game with at least one point, while Zach Zahara was marvelous in net, making 38 saves en route to his third win with Wenatchee. The Wild finished 1-for-3 on the power play to earn a goal on the man-advantage for the 12 th consecutive game, and the penalty kill was perfect in three chances.

The victory also ensured a 5-4-1-1 record for the Wild in November, and pushed them back above the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Conference standings with a 9-13-2-1 record on the year. Tri-City got 30 saves from Matecha, but fell to 18-6-1-0 with the loss.

Wenatchee returns to home ice against the Spokane Chiefs on Friday for Ugly Sweater Night presented by Dick's Heating & Air Conditioning, with the opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets for that game and all regular-season 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.

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Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild's Evan Friesen battles Tri-City Americans' Lukas Matecha and Maxmilian Curran
Wenatchee Wild's Evan Friesen battles Tri-City Americans' Lukas Matecha and Maxmilian Curran
(John Keller/Tri-City Americans)		   

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