Wild split three-game weekend, earn shootout win to close homestand

WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee Wild closed a demanding three-game weekend with a statement at home Sunday, salvaging a split by battling past the Vancouver Giants in a shootout after coming up short in tight losses Friday and Saturday.

The stretch opened Friday night at Town Toyota Center, where a brief first-period flurry proved costly in a 4-2 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors. After nearly 16 scoreless minutes, the teams combined for four goals in a span of 2 minutes, 18 seconds. Wenatchee briefly answered Steven Steranka’s opener with a Josh Toll point shot off a faceoff win, but Moose Jaw struck twice in 20 seconds late in the period to take control. Mathias Silaban pulled the Wild within one just 15 seconds into the second period, yet despite outshooting Moose Jaw 41-33 and winning the faceoff battle, Wenatchee could not find the equalizer. Casey Brown sealed it with an empty-net goal in the final minutes.

Saturday in Langley, British Columbia, the Wild delivered one of their strongest territorial efforts of the season but ran into a locked-in goaltender. Vancouver’s Burke Hood stopped all 38 Wenatchee shots, including 19 in the third period, as the Giants edged the Wild 2-1. The game turned on a shorthanded breakaway goal by Jacob Oreskovic early in the second period. Wenatchee poured on pressure late, outshooting Vancouver 19-2 in the final 20 minutes, but could not beat Hood again after Levi Benson tied the game in the first period.

The weekend ended on a far different note Sunday back in Wenatchee, where the Wild rallied from Saturday’s frustration and outlasted the Giants 3-2 in a shootout. Wenatchee jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Luka Shcherbyna and Grady Wedman, only to see Vancouver erase the deficit in the second period. The teams traded chances through a scoreless third period and overtime before Mason Kraft scored the lone shootout goal and Tobias Tvrznik stopped all three Vancouver attempts to secure the win.

The victory marked Wenatchee’s 12th home win of the season and extended the home team’s dominance in the series since the franchise relocated to Wenatchee in 2023. Shcherbyna’s power-play goal also pushed him past the 100-point mark for his WHL career.

Wenatchee finished the weekend with a 1-2 record, moving to 16-23-1-1 on the season, and now turns its attention forward as it prepares to host Portland on Friday night at Town Toyota Center.