Topsy-turvy tilt Saturday sees Calgary prevail in Wenatchee, 4-3

WENATCHEE  – After the first 40 minutes Saturday at Town Toyota Center, it appeared the next goal might be enough to grind out a win in a defensive battle. The final 20 minutes of regulation, however, revealed a topsy-turvy tilt between the Calgary Hitmen and Wenatchee Wild in a rare encounter across Western Hockey League conference lines. The Hitmen took a 4-3 overtime victory over Wenatchee in a contest that featured a pair of lead changes and three separate ties.

20 seconds into the first Calgary power play of the night, Carter Yakemchuk added an extra deke and went to the backhand for the opening goal 2:34 into the contest. The Hitmen posted the first five shots in the game, but Wenatchee followed with six of the next seven. Evan Friesen evened up the game with 3:07 left in the second, blocking a clearing attempt at the Hitmen blue line and skating it down the left wing before zipping a shot past Kason Kobelka’s glove hand.

After just two goals over the first 40 minutes between the teams, they exchanged four goals over the next stanza, starting with Oliver Tulk’s goal for the Hitmen at 4:16 of the third in an attempt to send the puck out front for a setup pass. 36 seconds later, though, Tyler Russell fired a shot from the right wing that beat Kobelka to tie the game and give Russell his first WHL marker.

Simultaneous bench minors for unsportsmanlike conduct and too many men on the ice at 7:09 gave the Wild a 5-on-3 power play, and it took 14 seconds for Deagan McMillan to bang in a backdoor one-timer from Kenta Isogai to give Wenatchee a 3-2 lead. Maxim Muranov would score the game’s final two goals – his backhand shot at the net tied the contest with 10:24 to play in regulation, and his finish on the odd-man rush into the Wild zone gave the Hitmen the victory with 1:13 remaining in overtime. Calgary wrapped up its six-game U.S. Division road trip with four wins, and five games with at least one point in the Eastern Conference standings.

“When you come into the U.S. Division, it’s a grind going through all the teams,” said Wild assistant coach Dan Johnston. “The game plan tonight was to get on them early, and you can’t just flip the switch. For us to acquire power plays, we need to have the puck, and we need to create those opportunities, which we didn’t do in the first half of the game.”

The win snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Wild organization against the Hitmen, dating back to February 2020 as the Winnipeg ICE, as Friesen finished Saturday’s game with a goal and an assist to lead the Wenatchee offense. Isogai also notched an assist as both players extended their scoring streaks to six straight games with at least one point. Daniel Hauser took the hard-luck overtime loss in net with 27 saves. McMillan’s power play goal gave the Wild a sixth consecutive game with at least one tally on the man-advantage.

Muranov’s two-goal night led the way for Calgary, alongside a goal and an assist for Tulk. Kobelka earned his second WHL victory with 21 saves, as Calgary moved to 10-7-3-1 for the season. The Wild took a 6-10-3-0 record out of Saturday’s contest.

A six-game homestand wraps up Sunday as Wenatchee squares off with the Kamloops Blazers for its NCW Community Toy Drive kickoff, presented by Worx. The opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center is slated for 4 p.m. Tickets for next Saturday’s game and all regular-season home games are on sale now by phone at 509-888-7825, or by visiting the team office at Town Toyota Center. Updated news and information on Wild hockey are always available through the team’s website and on the team’s social media platforms on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.