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WHL Wenatchee Wild

Wild Win Streak Reaches Five Games, Hauser Pitches Shutout in 4-0 Victory

October 29, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Wenatchee Wild News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Daniel Hauser and Graham Sward in action
Wenatchee Wild's Daniel Hauser and Graham Sward in action
(Wenatchee Wild, Credit: Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)

WENATCHEE, Wash. - There's a lot more of the story to be told for the Wenatchee Wild, with just 15 games played out of a 68-game schedule entering the month of November.

The most recent chapter, though, ended just the way the Wild envisioned it with a resounding win at home Saturday against the Kelowna Rockets. Daniel Hauser pitched his second shutout of the season in net, stopping 30 Kelowna shots, and the Wild walked off the ice a 4-0 victor. Wenatchee enters the month of November on a five-game winning streak, stretching its record to 8-6-1-0 on the season.

The first two goals of the night came on special teams - with Wenatchee up a man on a tripping call to Max Graham, Kenta Isogai's shot from the left-wing faceoff circle beat Jari Kykkanen for the lead at 6:14 of the opening stanza. Evan Friesen opened a second-period penalty kill by breaking up a Kelowna pass at the blue line and streaking down the ice for a breakaway goal and a 2-0 Wild lead with 6:36 on the clock.

The final two goals for Wenatchee came at even strength, in a 66-second span - Graham Sward hammered the puck to the net with 2.2 seconds to play in the second period, giving the Wild a 3-0 lead at the break. The lead reached four goals when Miles Cooper jammed in a loose puck in front at the 1:04 mark of the third.

The shutout was Hauser's 12th of his career and his 84th career victory, and the penalty kill did its share of the work in keeping the Rockets off the board by wiping away all seven Kelowna power plays. Wenatchee finished 1-for-3 on the man-advantage, its fifth straight game with a power play goal.

"It was a great way to wrap up the weekend," said Wild associate head coach Chris Clark. "We should feel really good about ourselves after this week. It was not an easy week, and our guys did a great job of sticking with it throughout the entire week and we got rewarded with six points because of it. Our penalty kill did a great job, even at the end there, with Landon Young with a huge block in the last minute of the game. We're definitely showing signs on the kill, and the power play has been red-hot lately."

Conor Geekie had a pair of assists, while Sward finished the night with a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to 13 games. Isogai extended his own scoring streak to five straight games with his first-period tally.

Next up for Wenatchee is a home weekend next Friday and Saturday against the Vancouver Giants and Victoria Royals, respectively. Vancouver's visit comes on the team's Proud to Be an American Night, presented by Riverside Payments - the opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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.

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Images from this story

Wenatchee Wild's Daniel Hauser and Graham Sward in action
Wenatchee Wild's Daniel Hauser and Graham Sward in action
(Russ Alman/Wenatchee Wild)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from October 29, 2023


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