Wild Win 2nd Straight Tournament Game
September 17, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release
BLAINE, Minn. - The Wenatchee Wild concluded the ninth annual Showcase Tournament in Blaine, Minn., Saturday with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Hitmen. The Wild wrapped up the tournament with a 2-2 record after winning its last two games.
Wenatchee built up a 3-0 lead less than 13 minutes into regulation. Evan Schmidbauer (Surrey, British Columbia) scored the first goal one minute and 50 seconds in when he scored off of Shawn Pauly's (Bellingham, Wash.) pass to the slot during a 2-on-1 situation.
Jerad Tafoya (Highland Ranch, Colo.) made it 2-0 with 9:25 left in the opening stanza when he jammed in a rebound from the left side of the cage during his team's first power play chance of the day. Ben Carey (Centennial, Colo.) assisted.
Carey notched the Wild's third goal from nearly the same spot that Tafoya scored from two minutes earlier. Matt Cope (Lakewood, Colo.) assisted after stealing the puck from behind the Chicago cage.
"We were definitely more opportunistic today," said Wild head coach John Becanic, whose squad scored eight goals in four tournament games while limiting the opposition to five markers. "When we had our chances, we scored."
Brandon Flood knocked in a goal for the Hitmen with a little more than three minutes remaining before the second intermission to cut the Wild lead to 3-1. Zach Mudge and David Gandara assisted.
Flood's goal was the only one that the Wild gave up on the day and the only one that Robert Nichols (Dallas, Texas) allowed in 120 minutes of play at the tournament. He shut out the Corpus Christi IceRays Friday, stopping 32 shots in his regular-season debut with the club. He followed up that effort today with a 22-save effort on 23 shots.
"I thought he was outstanding again," Becanic said of Nichols. "In my eyes he was the first star the last two games."
Wenatchee tacked on two more goals late in the third period. Blake Saylor (Centennial, Colo.) scored with 3:42 left on helpers from Cope and Trevor Stewart (East Wenatchee, Wash.). Trevor Husch (Plainfield, Ill.) concluded scoring 26 seconds later when he rifled a wrister into the net from inside the near circle off of Tafoya's pass.
Tafoya and Carey each had a goal and an assist. Wenatchee took 24 shots and scored one power-play goal on seven chances. Chicago was 0-for-4 on the man-advantage.
The Wild's 2011-12 home opening series, against the Alaska Avalanche, is this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 23-24). Both games will begin at 7:05 p.m.
Showcase Tournament
Blaine, Minn.
Wenatchee Wild Schedule & Results
Game 1:
Janesville 2, Wenatchee 0
Game 2:
Aberdeen 2, Wenatchee 1
Game 3:
Wenatchee 2, Corpus Christi 0
Game 4:
Wenatchee 5, Chicago 1
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North American Hockey League Stories from September 17, 2011
- Janesville Jets Win NAHL Showcase Crown - Janesville Jets
- Fighting Falcons Fall to Ice Dogs in Shootout - Port Huron Fighting Falcons
- Blues' Struggles Continue - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Janesville Jets Crowned NAHL Showcase Champions - NAHL
- Wildcats Down Bruins on Showcase's Final Day - Austin Bruins
- Jr. K-Wings Have Four Different Goal Scorers Contribute To Victory - Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings
- Warriors End Combat Hockey/NAHL Showcase Games with 3-1 Record - Michigan Warriors
- Wild Win 2nd Straight Tournament Game - Wenatchee Wild
- Stars Earn Stripes: TC Nets 4-0 Win, 3-0-1 Showcase Mark - Traverse City North Stars
- Texas Meltdown - Springfield Jr. Blues
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