Wild Earn First 3-Game Sweep over Ice Dogs
February 3, 2013 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
WENATCHEE, Wash. - For the first time in their history, theWenatchee Wild swept a 3-game series from the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. The Wildfinished off the 3-game sweep Saturday when they defeated the Ice Dogs in ashootout, 4-3.
"I'm pretty proud of the boys," said Wenatchee Wildassociate head coach Tom Rudrud."They played very hard and as a team. A lot of guys made sacrifices that showedus that they're really committed to team success."
Devin Loe staked the Ice Dogs to an early lead 99 secondsinto regulation when he redirected Jayson Angus' shot from the right wing intothe cage. Colton Wolter also assisted on the goal, which gave the Ice Dogstheir first lead in this weekend's 3-game series.
Jono Davis (LaVerne, Calif.) tie up the game for the Wild, 1-1, less than two minutes intothe second frame. Moments after the Wild killed off a Fairbanks power play,defenseman Blake Butzow (Plymouth,Mich.) set up the goal with a long send away pass down the center of the ice toDavis, who scored on a breakaway with a forehand-to-backhand move.
The Ice Dogs came right back, reclaiming the lead, 2-1, alittle over a minute after Davis scored when Jacob Hetz notched a short-handedbreakaway goal that started with a steal at his own blue line.
The Wild tied up the score, 2-2, with 4:05 left in thesecond stanza when Jacob Barber (DardennePrairie, Mo.) received a feather pass from ChrisKerr (Penticton, British Columbia) and lit the lamp on a wrist shot thatsailed over the right shoulder of netminder Steve Perry. Josh Hartley (Coquitlam, British Columbia) also picked up an assiston the goal.
Wenatchee earned its first lead in the game 4:36 into thethird period. Trace Redmond (McKinney,Texas) started the play with a hard slap shot from the top of the near faceoffcircle, and Trevor Stewart (EastWenatchee, Wash.) did the rest, grinding for the score on a short rebound. Thegoal was Stewart's first of the season in his first game of the season.
"He surprised me ... the surprise is that he had as much gasin the tank as he did," Rudrud said of Stewart. "He played smart, took care ofthe puck and just worked his tail off."
The Ice Dogs forced the third tie of the game near themidpoint of the third period when Doug Rose scored on a slap shot from thepoint during a power play. Ben Campbell assisted on the goal, which turned outto force overtime.
After a scoreless overtime period, in which Wenatchee had tokill off a Fairbanks power play, the game went to a shootout.
Max McHugh(Edgewood, Wash.), the Wild's first shooter, scored on a backhander. It turnedout to be the only goal the Wild would score in the shootout, and the only goalthey would need after Robert Nichols(Dallas, Texas) stopped all five Fairbanks shooters.
Nichols earned all three wins this weekend. He made 21 saveson 24 shots Saturday and refused to give up a score in the shootout. On theseries, he made 73 saves on 78 shots. Perry made turned aside 24 of Wenatchee's27 shots.
The Wild went 1-for-6 on the power play while the Ice Dogsscored one power-play goal on five chances.
The Wild (31-7-4) will play their next six games on the roadbeginning with a 2-game series against the Fresno Monsters this weekend (Feb.8-9). Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:35 p.m.
"I hope it does a lot for us," Rudrud said of how the Wild's3-game sweep could impact the team's confidence. "I think we're feeling prettygood about ourselves right now."
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North American Hockey League Stories from February 3, 2013
- Amarillo Wins 31st Beats Texas 2-1 in Thriller - Amarillo Bulls
- Wild Earn First 3-Game Sweep over Ice Dogs - Wenatchee Wild
- JACKS EARN POINT IN 4-3 SHOOTOUT LOSS - Odessa Jackalopes
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