PHOTO: Josh Arnold (12) with 4 points led Wenatchee to a 6-1 win over Coquitlam Saturday night.
CREDIT: Russ Alman / Digital Media Northwest
The Wenatchee Wild wrapped up a four-game homestand on Saturday night with a spirited 6-1 victory over the visiting Coquitlam Express at Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee. The win was regular season victory number 800 in the career of Head Coach / GM Bliss Littler, dating back to his first coaching job in Billings, MT in 1993.
Wenatchee found themselves shorthanded less than two minutes into the game, but a shorthanded goal from Josh Arnold put the Wild up 1-0, as he raced in on a shorthanded breakaway and flipped it up into the corner for the score. Matt Gosiewski doubled the lead at 13:55 when he snapped home the rebound of a Chad Sasaki attempt. Forty seconds later, Josh Arnold was at it again, forcing a turnover that Matt Dorsey turned and blistered into the high blocker-side corner and the Wild led 3-0 after 1. Late in the second, Arnold created another scoring chance as he was knocked down and from his knees, continued to stickhandle and dished it to Blake Bargar who snapped it home from the low slot for a 4-0 advantage. The Express got on the board on power play chance, the point shot of Troy Robillard deflecting off a Wild stick past Cal Sandquist and the Wild led 4-1 after two. Wenatchee added two more in the third sixteen seconds apart. The first was a solid wrister from the midpoint by Brandon Koch on the power play, and moments later the Express goaltender mishandled a puck behind the net and Josh Arnold pounded it home for his second goal and fourth point of the game, as the Wild went on to a 6-1 win, outshooting Coquitlam 31-14.
The win for Wenatchee is their third in a row, equaling a season high.
Wenatchee (12-9-2) returns to the road on Wednesday with a stop in Merritt, then it’s on to Trail on Friday and Salmon Arm on Saturday. The games will be available for video streaming on HockeyTV, and will be broadcast live both locally and via internet stream on “NewsRadio 560 KPQ” with the Pregame Shows beginning at 6:45 pm.
