Photo Credit: Russ Alman/WildHockeyPhotos.com
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WENATCHEE, Wash. – As the lead changes and ties mounted in Saturday’s Wenatchee Wild matchup against the Prince George Spruce Kings, Wild forward Cade Littler (East Wenatchee, Wash./Wenatchee Wild) decided it was time to go home and call it a year.
Littler’s second goal of the night, a snap from the right wing with 33.6 seconds remaining in overtime, finished 2022 for the Wild on a high note as Wenatchee walked off the ice a 6-5 winner over the Prince George Spruce Kings in front of 2,569 fans at Town Toyota Center. The win snapped a three-game losing skid in Wenatchee’s head-to-head series against the Spruce Kings, after a game that featured four ties and a pair of lead changes.
The game got off to as hot a start as the hosts could have hoped, with Parker Murray (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Wenatchee Wild) posting goals on back-to-back shifts to give Wenatchee a 2-0 lead just 2:13 into the contest. His shot from the left-wing boards, just above the hash marks, was the first of the game and put the Wild in front first just 39 seconds into the contest. A give-and-go with Garrett Szydlowski (Brighton, Mich./Wenatchee Wild) made it a 2-0 game.
However, the Spruce Kings erased the lead before the teams headed off the ice for the intermission. Austin Fraser skipped in a point-blank chance to halve the lead 6:30 into the game, and Charlie Banquier took advantage of a slow-developing 2-on-1 to tie the game with 3:37 remaining in the period.
Prince George took its first lead 4:07 out of the break, when Jake Schneider scored from the bottom corner of the right-wing circle to put his team ahead, 3-2. The goal sent starting Wild goaltender Andy Vlaha (Snohomish, Wash./Wenatchee Wild) to the bench after making 17 saves, but the decision would quickly end up in reliever Owen Millward’s (Davis, Calif./Janesville Jets) hands, after a tying backdoor tap-in from Szydlowski with 7:34 left in the period.
Each team earned a lead in the third period, starting with a go-ahead marker from Scott Cousins at the 7:41 mark, putting the Spruce Kings back in front by a 4-3 margin. Wenatchee tied the game with 20 seconds left on a power play following an interference call against Prince George’s Amran Bhabra, as Littler fired a shot from the left wing that beat Jordan Fairlie with 9:36 remaining.
Ean Somoza’s (Simi Valley, Calif./Wenatchee Wild) goal 70 seconds later, roofing one past Fairlie after driving down the left-wing boards, held up for just over three minutes – Fraser returned to the scoring column, putting away a goal on the run with 5:06 remaining to tie the game at 5-5. The teams nearly played to the brink in the overtime period – Prince George posted four shots on net, but Littler’s 2-on-1 chance was Wenatchee’s only shot of the extra session.
Murray held on as the leading goal-scorer of the year thus far for the Wild, posting two goals and two assists, while Szydlowski notched a goal and two helpers in the game. Littler, Somoza and David Hejduk (Parker, Colo./Wenatchee Wild) also picked up multi-point games for the Wild. Fraser’s two goals highlighted the effort for the Spruce Kings.
The win moved Wenatchee to 13-15-1-2 and also extended Wenatchee’s home point streak to 11 games, its longest since the 2016-17 season, when the team went unbeaten in regulation on home ice. Prince George slipped to 16-11-2-1 with the loss. The Wild head back on the road on Friday with a visit to the Powell River Kings – the opening puck drop is slated for 7 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and BCHL TV.
Wenatchee returns to home ice Wednesday, January 11 for a matchup against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. To purchase tickets to that game or any upcoming home game, call 509-888-7825 or click here. Updated news and information on Wild hockey are always available at www.wenatcheewildhockey.com and on the team’s social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Prince George 2 1 2 0 – 5
Wenatchee 2 1 2 1 – 6
1st Period-1, Wenatchee, Murray 15 (Szydlowski, Hejduk), 0:39. 2, Wenatchee, Murray 16 (Szydlowski, Marshall), 2:13. 3, Prince George, Fraser 7 (Primerano), 6:30. 4, Prince George, Banquier 5 (McGregor-Bennett, Greaves), 17:23. Penalties-Banquier Pg (interference), 15:12; Gasparini Wen (hooking), 18:12.
2nd Period-5, Prince George, Schneider 11 (Cousins, Kurrle), 4:07. 6, Wenatchee, Szydlowski 4 (Somoza, Murray), 12:26. Penalties-McGregor-Bennett Pg (tripping), 0:10; Banquier Pg (tripping), 17:52.
3rd Period-7, Prince George, Cousins 2 (Greaves), 7:41. 8, Wenatchee, Littler 14 (Berger, Hejduk), 10:24 (PP). 9, Wenatchee, Somoza 10 (Westen, Murray), 11:34. 10, Prince George, Fraser 8 (Primerano, Gagno), 14:54. Penalties-Fraser Pg (hooking), 2:21; Bhabra Pg (interference), 8:44.
1st OT Period-11, Wenatchee, Littler 15 4:27. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Prince George 18-6-6-4-34. Wenatchee 15-15-16-1-47.
Power Play Opportunities-Prince George 0 / 1; Wenatchee 1 / 5.
Goalies-Prince George, Fairlie 15-6-1-1 (47 shots-41 saves). Wenatchee, Vlaha 5-8-0-1 (20 shots-17 saves); Millward 8-7-1-1 (14 shots-12 saves).
A-2,569
Referees-Kacey Walker (83), Wyman Flynn (51).
Linesmen-Chris Hastings (132), Thomas Williams (125).
