WHL Wenatchee Wild

Wild Fans Toss Bears, Hats as Wenatchee Trounces Portland Friday, 8-3

December 2, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Matthew Savoie on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Matthew Savoie on game night
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - By the midway point of the first period on Friday night, there wasn't a teddy bear left in the stands at Town Toyota Center. By the midway point of the third, the supply of hats was also running noticeably lower.

The Wenatchee Wild tossed them both on the ice during the team's annual Teddy Bear Toss game, getting a hat trick from Matthew Savoie in an 8-3 win over the Portland Winterhawks, stretching the team's home winning streak to 11 games, and their overall home record to 12-1. Wenatchee's eight goals also tied a season high, with the teams set to do battle again on Saturday in Portland.

The honors went to Karter Prosofsky, scoring from the right edge of the slot at 8:02 of the first period after taking a setup pass from Savoie. Portland responded to take a 2-1 lead to the break, though, with Gabe Klassen tying the game at 9:32 and Luca Cagnoni scoring down the slot on the power play with 2:55 left in the period.

The second period belonged to the Western Hockey League's top second-period team, as the Wild peppered the scoreboard with four goals. Savoie waited only 17 seconds out of the intermission to tie the game, scoring from the right-wing faceoff circle before Prosofsky scored from the top of the right circle for the lead at 5:11 of the period. The Wild tacked on with a second goal from Savoie at 12:53, rushing down the slot on the power play before roofing his chance, and Evan Friesen capped the stanza by stuffing home a goal with 2:35 on the clock.

Savoie completed the hat trick 7:07 into the third by snapping a shot from the right-wing circle, but Cagnoni picked up his second goal with 6:58 left on a power play one-timer. Conor Geekie earned a spot on the score sheet with an empty-net tally at 16:58, and Ty Fraser put an exclamation mark on the game with his own goal to the top shelf with 2:34 to play.

Savoie's hat trick was his second with the Wild, after picking up a natural hat trick in Spokane on November 19. Prosofsky had two goals and two assists, while Geekie added three helpers to his empty netter. Brendan Gee made 33 saves to set a new season high, and added an assist for his efforts as well. Geekie and Savoie both saw their point-scoring streaks extended to six games.

"Karter is a guy we don't necessarily lean on for a lot of offense," said Wild assistant coach Andrew Sarauer. "He's a really good defender, and his physical presence is something we lean on every night. When he can chip in with goals, it's a nice bonus, and then the big dogs took over. Obviously [Savoie] and [Geekie] were hunting pucks all night - when you put Matt in the slot looking one-on-one with a goalie, it's pretty dangerous, and the guys were doing a good job on the forecheck. I thought we were using our speed through the neutral zone and our defensemen were jumping up and moving pucks quick to our forwards all night."

Cagnoni had a pair of power play goals, while Klassen factored into all three Winterhawk goals, scoring in the first period and assisting on both of Cagnoni's tallies as Portland went 2-for-9 on the power play. Justen Maric took the loss, stopping 12 of 17 shots, taking over for Luke Brunen after he was injured late in the first period. Brunen made seven saves before exiting the contest.

Saturday's rematch at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum is slated for 6 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live. Wenatchee comes home to face the Tri-City Americans Sunday, presented by Riverside Payments, for a 4 p.m. puck drop. Sunday's game is also the latest game in the team's Sunday Funday promotion, presented by Fred Meyer. Tickets for that game and all home regular-season contests are on sale now 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, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Check out the Wenatchee Wild Statistics




Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild's Matthew Savoie on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Matthew Savoie on game night
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from December 2, 2023


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