Wild Top Johnstown In Shootout
November 30, 2013 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
Wenatchee, WA. - The Wenatchee Wild played the Johnstown Tomahawks tonight at the Town Toyota Center and sent 3,741 fans home happy, winning their fourth straight, 4-3 in a shootout.
Johnstown scored first on a power play goal by Trevor Recktenwald, assisted by Matthew Meier and Brady Bender at 11:51 of the opening period, giving the Tomahawks a 1-0 lead.
The Wild would tie it up early in the second period with a power play goal by Trey Bradley (Tampa, Florida), working a successful give-and-go with Matthew Nuttle (Marilla, New York) from the bottom of the right wing circle. Parker Tuomie (Biemerhaven, Germany) drew the second assist at 1:11, with the Teddy Bear goal tying the game at 1-1. Johnstown regained the lead three and a half minutes later, on a goal by Jordan Watt. Joe Drabin assisted at 4:42, putting the Tomahawks back on top at 2-1.
Wenatchee tied the game with a power play goal in the third period, as Tuomie scored on a top shelf, sharp angle shot from the bottom of the right wing circle. Mike Coyne (Kenmore, New York) and Bradley assisted at 7:51, squaring things at 2-all. Johnstown regained the lead at 12:40 as Brandon Reinholz scored from Meier, putting the Tomahawks back on top, 3-2. Late in regulation, with the goaltender pulled for the extra attacker, Troy Loggins (Huntington Beach, California), stationed in tight at the right post, flipped one high into the net to tie the game for the Wild 3-3. Andre Pison (Herlev, Denmark) assisted at 19:21, forcing overtime.
In the extra session, both teams went back and forth but neither could score, sending the game into a deciding shootout.
In the shootout, Omar Mullan scored in round one for Johnstown, but Bradley countered for Wenatchee. The Tomahawks' Shane Bednard, Forest Donavan and Zach Wallace were stopped in succession in the next three rounds, while Tuomie scored for the Wild in round two and Loggins in round three, giving Wenatchee the extra standings point and their fourth consecutive win, taking the game by a 4-3 count. "I thought we played well" said Wenatchee Wild Head Coach Bliss Littler. "We were a little snake bit early, we definitely had some good chances to score, I thought their (Johnstown's) goaltender played very well for them. We need to bring a little more intensity in front of their net. Overall, I was pretty happy with the effort. The crowd was fantastic."
The Wild outshot Johnstown 50-23 on the night. Gustaf Johansson (Uppsala, Sweden) made 20 saves; Alex Okicki had 46 saves for the Tomahawks. Wenatchee was 2-for-5 on the power play and 2-of-3 on the penalty kill.
The Wild is now 12-10-2, Johnstown is 14-9-2.
The Wild remains home for 3 more games with Johnstown tomorrow, (December 1st 5:05pm PST), Friday the 6th (7:05pm PST) and Saturday the 7th (7:05pm PST). Individual and group game tickets for all home games are on sale now. Call 509.888.PUCK (7825).
• Discuss this story on the North American Hockey League message board...
North American Hockey League Stories from November 30, 2013
- Wild Top Johnstown In Shootout - Wenatchee Wild
- Bobcats Sweep Austin with 4-3 Shootout Win - Bismarck Bobcats
- Runners Ram the Bulls 4-3 - Topeka Pilots
- Davidson's first-career goal not enough for Wildcats as IceRays salvage weekend split - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Durflinger's Short-Handed Goal Sparks 'Rays in 4-2 Victory - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Amarillo Bulls Beat Topeka 4-1 - Amarillo Bulls
- Brahmas Goalie Goes to TIER I - Lone Star Brahmas
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
