Wild Edge Vernon, Win Streak At Four

Chilliwack, BC. – The Wenatchee Wild overcame an early second period deficit, then withstood a late Vernon charge, for a 3-2 win over the Vipers Saturday afternoon, taking their opening game in the Bauer BCHL Showcase at the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Despite a 13-2 shots advantage in the opening period for the Wild, the game remained scoreless through the first twenty minutes.

Vernon opened the scoring in the second on a Steven Jandric goal, assisted by Liam Finlay and Odeen Tufto just 46 seconds into the frame, putting Wenatchee on the short end of a 1-0 deficit. However, the Wild would then strike three times, to grab a two-goal lead. Troy Conzo (Nesconset, NY) scored from Joe Drabin (Rochester, NY) and Alex Bates (Highlands Ranch, CO) at 13:42, tying the game 1-1. Wenatchee would grab the lead just 47 seconds later on a Hunter Alden (Walla Walla, WA) goal, assisted by Brandon Puricelli (St. Louis, MO) at 14:29, putting the Wild on top for good, at 2-1. They would lengthen the lead late in the period as a Tyler Rockwell (San Jose, CA) point shot found an opening and then the back of the net at 18:43. Bryan Yoon (Parker, CO) assisted, putting Wenatchee up 3-1 after two periods.

In the third, the Wild tilted the ice in their favor, but weren’t able to light the lamp. The Vipers did get a late goal by Jimmy Lambert off assists by Bo Pellah and Mitchell Oliver at 18:42, but Wenatchee shut the door on Vernon from there, taking the game by a 3-2 margin.

Chase Perry (Andover MN) stopped 19 shots for the Wild, while Jarrod Schamerhorn made 36 saves for the Vipers, as Wenatchee piled up a 36-19 edge in shots on the game. The Wild went 1-for-8 on the power play and 2-of-2 on the penalty kill.

With the win, Wenatchee improves to 4-0-0-0 on the season, while Vernon falls to 2-3-0-1. The Wild conclude Showcase play on Sunday, with a 4:00pm PDT matchup with the Trail Smoke Eaters. They travel to Salmon Arm on Friday, October 2^nd, West Kelowna on Saturday, October 3^rd, then Langley on Friday, October 9^th, before playing their home opener against the Coquitlam Express opener on Saturday, October 10^th, with faceoff at the Town Toyota Center set for 7:05pm PDT. Tickets are available at the Wild office, or by calling 509-888-7825.

Battle For The Border