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WHL Wenatchee Wild

Wild First Rounders Push Wenatchee to 5-2 Win Friday Over Tri-City

November 16, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie and Kenta Isogai on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie and Kenta Isogai on game night
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - Wednesday's Wenatchee Wild game against the Tri-City Americans was all about the heavy hitters.

Some of it involved heavy hitters on the scoreboard, including two first-round National Hockey League draft picks on the ice for the Wild. In other instances, it involved literal heavy hitting, in a budding Western Hockey League U.S. Division rivalry that involved several dustups and a total of 68 penalty minutes.

Once all the dust settled, though, the Wild were the ones standing tall with a 5-2 win, their first in a brief series that included a preseason Americans win in Wenatchee, and a 2-1 squeaker for Tri-City on its home rink in October. Wenatchee's heavy hitters on the scoreboard largely came from its starting lineup on Wednesday, which totaled 12 points in moving the Wild to 8-1 at Town Toyota Center this year.

The game's first goal came from Tri-City's Pasha Bocharov, a face-and-fire shot from the left circle at 4:04 of the first period to put the Americans in front first. The Wild answered less than three minutes later, when Karter Prosofsky split the defense with a pass to Conor Geekie, who took the puck in and scored on a backhanded chance to tie the game at 1-1.

Wenatchee surged in the second period with three goals in a five-minute span, starting with Kenta Isogai's one-timer from Matt Savoie at the 7:35 mark that put the Wild in front to stay. Hayden Moore's wrist shot from atop the left-wing circle halfway through the game made it 3-1, and Savoie buried a second chance with 7:35 remaining in the period for a 4-1 margin.

With two minutes off the clock and a fraction of a second remaining on a Wenatchee power play, Jordan Gavin threw the puck into the top corner of the net from mid-slot, scoring for Tri-City on the penalty kill and dropping the lead back to 4-2. Geekie finished with a sharp-angle goal with 6:12 remaining, chopping the puck into the net from just above the goal line to Kyle Kelsey's left.

"Tonight was a real character win, with a lot of guys sticking up for each other," said Wenatchee assistant coach Andrew Sarauer. "That's what teams are all about. This is what builds character on teams, is everyone sticking up for each other, getting two points & moving on."

Geekie posted his first four-point game in a Wenatchee uniform with two goals and two assists, while Isogai finished with a goal and two assists, and Savoie had one of each. Gavin led the Tri-City offense with a goal and an assist of his own. Special teams were a highlight for the Wild in Wednesday's game, going 2-for-5 on the power play and wiping away both of Tri-City's chances on the man-advantage.

Daniel Hauser earned his 10th win of the season and 88th in his WHL career, making 27 saves, while Kelsey took the loss with 33 stops. Wenatchee climbed to 12-8-1-0 with the win, three points clear of Tri-City in the Western Conference standings, who slipped to 10-7-2-2 with the loss.

The teams will see each other again on Friday, with Tri-City on its home ice. The opening puck drop at Toyota Center in Kennewick is slated for 7:05 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live.

Wenatchee comes back to home ice on Sunday, with a 4 p.m. contest against the Prince Albert Raiders - Sunday's game is Mom & Son Night, presented by Keyhole Security, and the first of Wenatchee's Fred Meyer Sunday Funday promotion. 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 Conor Geekie and Kenta Isogai on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie and Kenta Isogai on game night
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from November 16, 2023


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