Wild Power Play Opens Fast Saturday, Chiefs Finish Strong as Spokane Takes 4-1 Win
WHL Wenatchee Wild

Wild Power Play Opens Fast Saturday, Chiefs Finish Strong as Spokane Takes 4-1 Win

Published on February 8, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Cal Conway on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Cal Conway on game night
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - After hauling in two huge points on Friday and earning their first three-game point streak of the season, the Wenatchee Wild needed another win Saturday at Town Toyota Center to continue their climb toward the Western Hockey League's final Western Conference playoff spot.

Instead, the Spokane Chiefs' 4-1 win over the Wild gave them an important leg up after a Victoria Royals loss at Everett.

Sam Oremba and Coco Armstrong each bagged a goal and an assist, helping the Chiefs climb into the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot. Caelan Joudrey garnered a personal highlight despite the Wild loss, though, scoring on the power play in the first period to bump his point streak to four games. Cal Conway made 43 saves for Wenatchee, just one shy of his season best.

Joudrey's goal came with 50 seconds left on a hooking call to Owen Schoettler, redirecting a chance from Boston Tait at the 8:25 mark of the first period to give the Wild a goal on their first power play of the night.

Unfortunately, that was the only scoring punch the Wild would find - just 65 seconds out of the first intermission, an outlet pass down the right wing bounced off the wall and onto the stick of Tyus Sparks, and he drove the puck to the front of the net and hurled it past Conway to tie the game. With the Chiefs on the power play and 5:44 on the second-period clock, Brody Gillespie hammered a right-wing one-timer to the net and got a tip from Oremba to put Spokane in front, 2-1.

Spokane pushed the lead to two goals when Will McIsaac shoveled the puck down the slot on a backhand toss, taking advantage of a delayed penalty at 3:41 of the third. The final goal came when Armstrong ran the puck toward the empty Wenatchee net with 1:28 to play - his first shot bounded off of Gabriel Guilbault's skates, but caromed back to him, allowing him to jog inside the hash marks and toss the puck off the twine for a final three-goal margin.

Joudrey has goals in three of the four games in his current and career-best point streak - the Airdrie, Alberta product also has points in seven of his last eight outings. Wenatchee finished 1-for-3 on the power play, and also logged a 5-for-6 finish on the penalty kill. Carter Esler earned his 13th win of the season with 25 saves on 26 Wenatchee shots - the Wild dropped to 19-27-3-2 on the season, while Spokane climbed above .500 for the year at 25-24-1-0.

One road game is ahead for the Wild ahead of their next home outing - Wenatchee stops in Kelowna Wednesday to face the Rockets for the first time this season. Wednesday's opening faceoff at Prospera Place in downtown Kelowna is slated for 7:05 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and Victory+. The Wild return to home ice on Friday as the Rockets drop by for Wenatchee's annual "Knight at the Wild," presented by Wenatchee Valley College.

Tickets for Friday's game and all regular-season Wild home games are on sale now by phone 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, X, Instagram and YouTube.

Check out the Wenatchee Wild Statistics

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Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild's Cal Conway on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Cal Conway on game night
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2026


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