Wild fall 7-3 to Giants in preseason contest

EVERETT — The Wenatchee Wild opened the scoring Sunday but surrendered four unanswered goals on the way to a 7-3 preseason loss to the Vancouver Giants at Angel of the Winds Arena.

The neutral-site matchup was Wenatchee’s first Western Hockey League preseason game against a Canadian opponent and completed a three-game week for the Wild.

Alexandre Andre gave Wenatchee a 1-0 lead 5:09 into the game, scoring off a pass from Riley Brown. Vancouver’s Kaleb Hartmann tied the game about four minutes later before Jakob Oreskovic put the Giants ahead.

Vancouver extended its lead to 3-1 when Mathis Preston scored on the power play with 29 seconds remaining in the first period. Brayden Jugnauth added another power-play goal 2:32 into the second.

Hayden Schollar cut the deficit to 4-2 with 1:38 remaining in the second period, scoring after Zane Torre sent the puck off the end boards.

The Giants scored three times in the third period, with Kaden Hayes, Nolen Miller and Preston extending the lead to 7-2. Rui Han scored Wenatchee’s final goal off a chance from Kalen Miles.

Preston finished with two goals and an assist, while Oreskovic had a goal and two assists. Vancouver went 2-for-7 on the power play and held Wenatchee scoreless on three opportunities.

Mark Djomo stopped 21 of 25 shots for Wenatchee before Carsten Leyerzapf made 15 saves on 18 shots in relief. Vancouver goaltenders Burke Hood and Donovan Knapp each made 16 saves.

Wenatchee has two preseason games remaining. The Wild are scheduled to face the Seattle Thunderbirds at 3 p.m. Friday at Toyota Arena in Kennewick as part of the Tri-City Americans’ preseason showcase.