Despite having a changing roster, the Wenatchee Wild put up a strong show and stunned the Portland Winterhawks, winning 6-3 in Portland. Evan Friesen and Shaun Rios both scored two goals.
The Wild were playing back-to-back games and had traveled the same distance as the Winterhawks, who were playing their third game in three nights and their fourth in five.
Portland will now go to the East on a six-game journey.
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Game preview
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Game thread with game updates and postgame reaction.
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Scoring summary
| 1st 7:50 WEN Shaun Rios (Maddix McCagherty) 0-1 | On a 4-on-4 the Wild double-team Tyson Jugnauth along the boards in the Wild zone, and when they win the puck Rios and McCagherty take off on a 2 on 1. Rios gets it to McCagherty, and he sends it back to Rios for an open one-timer. Lukas McCloskey helped win the puck battle, and he might get an assist. |
| 1st 11:46 WEN (PP) Shaun Rios (Reid Andresen, Evan Friesen) 0-2 | On a 5 on 3 penalty, Rios is given a lot of time at the right dot, and he picks a corner. Andresen passed it over to him, and Friesen won the faceoff. |
| 1st 19:26 POR (PP) Tyson Jugnauth (Josh Zakreski, Ondrej t bet k) 1-2 | Jugnauth, from the middle of the blue line, beats Bredan Gee through some traffic. He passed it back and forth to Zakreski, and t bet k touched the puck before they got it up ice. |
| 2nd 2:49 POR Joel Plante (Josh Zakreski, Tyson Jugnauth) 2-2 | Jugnauth s long outlet is a 50-50 contest near the Wild blue line, and it s won by Plante as he pokes it by McCloskey. That gives Portland a 2 on 1, and Plante works a give-and-go with Zakreski and one-times it in. |
| 2nd 11:57 WEN (PS) Evan Friesen 2-3 | Friesen pokes a puck away from Jordan Duguay near the Wild blue line, and accelerates with the puck past Jugnauth to create a breakaway, and Jugnauth hooks him for the penalty shot. Friesen then converts with a forehand wrister. |
| 3rd 9:26 WEN (PP) Zane Saab (Brendan Dunphy) 2-4 | Dunphy steals the puck from Jugnauth as he tries to clear, and gets a shot on goal. It gets stopped but Saab follows up. |
| 3rd 13:38 WEN (PP) Maddix McCagherty (Shaun Rios, Reid Andresen) 2-5 | Rios gets a dot-to-dot pass through to McCagherty at the left dot, and he beats Ondrej t bet k before he can get over. Andresen got a diagonal pass from the left point through to Rios. |
| 3rd 17:24 WEN (EN) Evan Friesen (Shaun Rios, Lukas McCloskey) 2-6 | With the net empty, Rios s attempt at a hat trick from his own blue line misses the net, but Friesen beats the icing and is there to collect the end board rebound and an easy goal. |
| 3rd 18:11 POR (SH) Kyle McDonough (Hudson Darby) 3-6 | The Wild on a power play can t convert a 4 on 2, which leaves them unprepared for a Portland 3 on 1 the other way. Darby gets it across to McDonough, who wrists it past Gee for the final goal. |
| Portland leads by 2+ | 0:00 |
| Portland leads by 1 | 0:00 |
| Tied | 16:58 |
| Portland trails by 1 | 24:48 |
| Portland trails by 2+ | 18:14 |
Narratives
Pregame: The final game of the Winterhawks’ three-in-three series and their final home game in twenty days. Due to trades, injuries, and the fact that not all of their acquired players had yet arrived, they met a Wenatchee squad that made a similar overnight trip and was severely shorthanded. After losing as heavy favorites on Friday, the Winterhawks made another attempt as stronger favorites here.
First period: Although it was up there, Portland’s worst period of the year was avoided by a goal by Tyson Jugnauth in the final minute. Although Portland’s six shots were of a respectable caliber, there just weren’t enough. It appeared like two worn-out teams for a large portion of the match. However, the Wild played good defense up until the Portland power play in the last minute, where Shaun Rios scored on a 2 on 1 and a 5 on 3 power play.
Joel Plante gave the Winterhawks an early tie in the second period, and it appeared as though they could be prepared to seize control. They enjoyed a little advantage but failed to break away, and the Wild regained the lead thanks to a penalty shot goal by Evan Friesen.
Third period: The Wild showed early symptoms of fear, but their veterans calmed them down. The Wild scored on both power plays to essentially put it out of reach after Portland took two penalties that they didn’t like. After that, things got a little out of hand, and the score was 6-3.
How it was won: 1) Wenatchee’s top line, which consists of Shaun Rios, Evan Friesen, and Maddox McCagherty, scored five goals, though not as an even strength line because two of them came from a penalty shot, one from an empty netter, and two from a power play. Perhaps it would be more accurate to state that their best offensive players performed.
2) The power play, which went 3 for 8 despite Portland’s excellent penalty kill.
3) The Wild handled weariness better than Portland; they were still in the second of a back-to-back following a travel from Vancouver, while having fewer miles on them.
4) The poise that other teams haven’t had versus Portland in the third period.
5) Kyle Chyzowski and Diego Buttazzoni, two of Portland’s best forwards, had their point streaks ended by the Wild.
The game’s opening goal, which was scored by McCagherty and Rios combining on a 2 on 1, was a pivotal period or time when there were still concerns that the Winterhawks might outplay them.
It was unexpected that Portland gave up eight power plays and that the league’s top special teams goal differential club lost the special teams game.
It was an inconsequential game-ending goal, but the Wild, who have allowed the most shorthanded goals in the league, allowed the Winterhawks, who have scored the most, to score a shorthanded goal.
Perhaps more significantly, with eight power plays, the Wild lead the NHL in power plays.
Controversies: For the first time this season, the Winterhawks lost their cool over several non-calls in the third inning.
Although you would prefer to see the teams with everyone at their best, the best team did win this evening.
No suspensions or injuries.
The players
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Shaun Rios | WEN | 2 goals, 2 assists | Second 4-point game of the season for the rookie. |
| Evan Friesen | WEN | 2 goals, 1 assist | A big game for the only player in the lineup left from the Winnipeg Ice two seasons ago. |
| Reid Andresen | WEN | 2 assists | Steadying force on the back line, especially with the Wild protecting a lead. |
| Maddix McCagherty | WEN | 1 goal, 1 assist | Two big goals combining with Rios. |
| Josh Zakreski | POR | 2 assists | |
| Joel Plante | POR | 1 goal | |
| Eastyn Mannix | WEN | ||
| Brendan Dunphy | WEN | 1 assist | Good on defense and created a power play goal. |
| Brendan Gee | WEN | 18 saves-21 shots | Portland got a lot of quality for their 21 shots, so he had a pretty good game. |
| Lukas McCloskey | WEN | 1 assist |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ondrej t bet k | POR | 20 saves-25 shots | Played all four games this week, with mixed results. |
| Kyle Chyzowski | POR | 7-game point streak snapped. Retains his league scoring lead. | |
| Diego Buttazzoni | POR | 12-game point streak stopped. | |
| Tyson Jugnauth | POR | 1 goal, 1 assist | Chosen as the game s first star, which might be the worst star pick of the season for an organization that in home losses has awarded themselves more stars than they ve scored goals. He had 2 points and wasn t bad, but he was on the wrong side of almost every Wenatchee key play, especially the first four Wild goals. He ll have better games. |
Postgame
| Winterhawks | Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 21-14-2-1 (.592) |
14-18-3-1 (.444) |
| Goals/game | 3.9 |
3.3 |
| Goals allowed/game | 4.0 |
3.7 |
| Team shooting % |
.116 |
.107 |
| Team save % | .886 | .890 |
| Power play |
27.7% |
21.9% |
| Penalty kill | 78.2% | 82.8% |
| Power plays for/game | 4.2 |
4.4 |
| Power plays against/game | 3.9 |
4.0 |
| Outshooting opponents | 14-22-2 |
13-23 |
| After 1 period | 11-15-12 |
11-16-9 |
| After 2 periods | 14-19-5 |
12-14-10 |
| Score, last 10 games | 45-38 (+7) |
34-28 (+6) |
| Score, last 20 games | 90-79 (+11) |
70-69 (+1) |
The Portland Winterhawks
It should have been won on the basis of manpower, but fatigue’s effects are impossible to forecast. particularly for a club that depends on quickness. It’s hardly the end of the world, but this week’s 3 points out of 8 is likely below what would have been deemed a success. The journey east is the next obstacle.
Wild Wenatchee
With a solid victory, they move up to eighth place and secure a postseason berth.
Next games
Brandon, Friday, January 10, at 5:00 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Regina on Saturday, January 11, at 4 p.m. PST (6 p.m. CST)
Looking ahead: Swift Current on Saturday, January 18, at 5:00 p.m. PST (7 p.m. CST)
Next home game: Friday, January 24, at 7 p.m. PST against Tri-City
Wenatchee’s next game is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, at 6 p.m. PST.
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