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Wenatchee Wild

Wild Finish Three-Game Alberta Road Swing with 5-2 Loss Sunday at Edmonton

February 26, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Brendan Gee and Edmonton Oil Kings' Landon Hanson on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Brendan Gee and Edmonton Oil Kings' Landon Hanson on game night
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings)

EDMONTON, Alberta - The Wenatchee Wild snagged all four possible points on the first two nights of their road trip through Alberta, and with Sunday's game at the Edmonton Oil Kings within a goal for much of the third period, finishing the three-game weekend with all six available points certainly wasn't out of the question.

It took two goals in the final 2:30 for the Oil Kings to put away a 5-2 victory over the Wild, as Wenatchee's magic number to clinch a Western Hockey League playoff berth remained at just six points. Edmonton took its fifth win in its last six games, moving to 21-33-2-1 for the year, while the Wild dropped to 30-24-4-0 on the season.

The Oil Kings led from the 8:17 mark of the first period, when Gavin Hodnett scored from just inside the left faceoff circle for a 1-0 lead. With the puck behind the Wild net, a clearing attempt was blocked out to the front of the post, and Marshall Finnie tapped it in to double the lead at the 12:11 mark. Edmonton set the pace in the early stages, posting 16 of the 20 total shots on goal in the first 20 minutes.

Karter Prosofsky put Wenatchee back within a goal with 6:50 left in the second period, and the one-goal margin held until the final 3.6 seconds of the stanza - Rhys Pederson threw a shot to the net, and it popped through the bodies in front for a 3-1 Edmonton lead after two periods. However, Kenta Isogai scored just 24 seconds out of the locker room, zipping a one-timer to the net that slid through underneath Kolby Hay to cut the Edmonton lead to 3-2.

The one-goal margin remained until the 17:30 mark of the third, when Smyth Rebman sneaked a shot through Gee's pads to give the Oil Kings a 4-2 advantage. The Wild pulled Brendan Gee for the extra attacker shortly after that goal, but could not score to trim back the lead. Edmonton got one more goal from Ty Nash, a transition tap-in into the empty net with 53.3 seconds to go.

"We had a good pushback in the second and third (periods). If you take out the first 10 minutes, I think we win that hockey game," said Wild head coach Roy Sommer. "They were beating us to pucks all over the place early on, and they put us down 2-0, but we battled back - I think at one point in the second period, they had only one shot with five minutes left. They had only one scoring chance in the second period and they put it away with three seconds left. We had our looks, and we did what we wanted - we scored early in the third, and when you're playing three-in-three and you're trying to find the legs to make a comeback, it's tough to do. They held in there tonight."

Finnie wrapped up the weekend with a goal and two assists in this game, followed by Nash, who ended with a goal and an assist. Hay stopped 24 of Wenatchee's 26 shots, earning his 18th win of the season. Gee was denied his 14th victory, despite stopping 23 Edmonton shots. The Oil Kings finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Wild were held without a goal on three chances.

The Wild return home Wednesday, February 28 to face the Regina Pats, with the opening puck drop slated for 6 p.m. Fans are invited to join the team at Applebee's following the contest. Tickets for that game and all home regular-season games are on sale now at 509-888-7825, or by visiting the team office at Town Toyota Center. Wild playoff packages and 2024-25 season tickets are now on sale as well - 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.

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Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild's Brendan Gee and Edmonton Oil Kings' Landon Hanson on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Brendan Gee and Edmonton Oil Kings' Landon Hanson on game night
(Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings)		   

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