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WHL Wenatchee Wild

Wild Open Preseason with 5-2 Wednesday Afternoon Win at Spokane

September 6, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Gabe Ludwig in action
Wenatchee Wild's Gabe Ludwig in action
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Larry Brunt/Spokane Chiefs)

SPOKANE, Wash. - Unofficial as it might be, the newest team in the Western Hockey League has its first win.

The Wenatchee Wild collected a 5-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs Wednesday afternoon, using an impressive power play showing to jump ahead in a closed-door preseason game at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Wild scored on their first three power play chances and never looked back, hauling home a victory in the preseason opener for both sides.

With just six seconds left on the game's opening power play, Oscar Lovsin scored Wenatchee's first preseason goal at 8:05 of the opening period for a 1-0 advantage. A brief skirmish with 41 seconds left in the opening period left the Wild with a four-minute power play following a checking-from-behind call to Spokane's Lukas Kral, and Gabe Ludwig took advantage of the extra manpower to double the lead 1:21 into the second.

Spokane battled back heading to the third, picking up a goal from Cohen Harris with just under four minutes left on the second-period clock. Kenta Isogai's goal following a high-sticking infraction from Nathan Mayes kept the Wild perfect on the man-advantage and pushed the lead to 3-1 at the 3:26 mark of the third.

The Chiefs' penalty-killing unit showed its mettle later in the period, killing off a pivotal 5-on-3 chance for the Wild before getting a goal from Coco Armstrong at 8:12 of the third to trim the lead back to 3-2. However, Evan Friesen's goal with 9:10 to go put the game out of reach, before an empty-net tally from Steven Arp gave his team its final three-goal cushion.

Wenatchee bookended the game with a 16-3 shots-on-goal margin in the game's first 20 minutes, and a 13-3 mark in the final 20. Briley Wood highlighted the Wild offense with three assists, with Jonas Woo close behind, posting two of his own - five different players scored Wenatchee's five goals in the game. Brendan Gee went the distance in net and made 13 saves to earn the victory, while Dawson Cowan and Carter Esler combined for 27 saves, splitting time for Spokane in the loss.

Next up for the Wild is their only home contest of the preseason, a Kids' Day showdown Saturday evening against the Tri-City Americans, with the opening puck drop slated for 6 p.m. All adult tickets in the Town Toyota Center bowl are just $12 - kids 12 and under are admitted free, and will enjoy a variety of activities on the concourse provided by local businesses, with the first 1,000 kids in attendance receiving a t-shirt as well. Live coverage is also available on Newsradio 560 KPQ and streaming as a preseason "freeview" on WHL Live.

Tickets for Wenatchee's home-opening games September 22 and 23 against the Portland Winterhawks and Seattle Thunderbirds are also on sale, while tickets for the rest of the team's 2023-24 regular-season home games go on sale September 8. Season tickets are still available by calling 509-888-7825 or 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 Gabe Ludwig in action
Wenatchee Wild's Gabe Ludwig in action
(Larry Brunt/Spokane Chiefs)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from September 6, 2023


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