Wild Close Island Trip With Win At Nanaimo

Port Alberni, BC. – The Wenatchee Wild overcame a pair of first period power play goals against Saturday night, coming back to beat the Nanaimo Clippers 4-2 in front of 1,528 at the Frank Crane Arena.

Devin Brosseau opened the scoring for Nanaimo, assisted by Sheldon Rempal and Will Reilly at 5:09 of the opening period, putting the Clippers on top, 1-0. Blake Christensen (Lauderhill, FL) evened things up for Wenatchee at the 9:55 mark, assisted by Brendan Harris (Las Vegas, NV), tying the game 1-1. Nanaimo would regain the lead just shy of the 14 minute mark on a Zach Court goal. Chris Dodero and Corey Renwick assisted at 13:37, giving the Clippers a 2-1 lead after one.

In the second, Kyle Stephan (Barrie, ON) blew a wrister from the slot past the goaltender for the unassisted tying goal at 2:22, squaring the game for the Wild at 2-2.

Wenatchee would add a pair of goals in the third. Mike Coyne (Buffalo, NY) banged one home in close, assisted by Stephen and Logan Milliken (Canmore, AB) at 23 seconds, putting the Wild on top, 3-2. Then late in the period, Dakota Raabe (Dana Point, CA) scored an empty net, power play goal at 19:39, off assists from Stephan and Coyne, giving Wenatchee the 4-2 win.

Nanaimo outshot the Wild 29-21. Garrett Nieto (Yorba Linda, CA) made 27 saves for Wenatchee, while Jonathan Reinhart had 17 stops for the Clippers. The Wild went 1-for-5 on the power play and 7-of-9 on the penalty kill. “As far as tonight’s game in Nanaimo, I was very proud of the effort.” said Wenatchee Wild Head Coach/General Manager Bliss Littler. “Our third game in three nights, four ferry rides, a couple of 12 and 10 hour trips to get here, playing a team that was fresh, to muster up enough effort to find a way to win today, I was proud of the effort. As far as the weekend, picking up 5 of 6 points on a very difficult trip, I couldn’t be happier.”

With the win, Wenatchee improves to 8-3-1-1 on the season, moving back into sole possession of first place in the Mainland Division. Nanaimo slips to 7-6-0-0. The Wild are back in action with a Wednesday, October 21^st game at Chilliwack, then return home to face Alberni Valley on Friday, October 23^rd, and Surrey Saturday and Sunday, October 24^th and 25^th. All three contests at the Town Toyota Center start at 7:05pm. Tickets are available at the door, at the Wild office, or by calling 509-888-7825 or 509-888-7274.

Battle For The Border