Wild Crowns Spruce Kings In Overtime

Wenatchee, WA. – The Wenatchee Wild battled a determined Prince George Spruce Kings squad into overtime Saturday, coming from a late third period deficit to win 3-2, before 3,217 at the Town Toyota Center.

After a scoreless first period in which the Wild outshot Prince George 13-3, Wenatchee would grab the lead on an August Von Ungern (Boise, ID) shot, crammed in at the left post, just before the net came off the line. Brandon Puricelli (St. Louis, MO) assisted at 1:50, giving the Wild a 1-0 lead. The Spruce Kings tied it up late in the period, as Kyle Johnson scored from Tanner Campbell at 14:52, knotting the game 1-1 through 40 minutes.

In the third, Prince George took the lead. Cavin Tilsley scored from Adam Burnett and Matthew Stief at 14:02, for a 2-1 Spruce Kings lead. However, Tyler Rockwell (San Jose, CA) scored from the left point on a deflection at 14:02 to tie it for Wenatchee. Von Ungern assisted to square the game 2-2 and force overtime.

In the extra session, Troy Conzo (Nesconset, NY) cut through the right wing circle and fired towards the goal. The puck deflected off a defenders’ stick and in at 2:02, off an assist from Von Ungern, giving the Wild the 3-2 win.

Wenatchee outshot Prince George 43-10 in the game. Garrett Nieto (Yorba Linda, CA) made 8 saves for the Wild, while Liam McCloskey made 40 saves for the Spruce Kings. Wenatchee went 0-for-5 on the power play and 2-of-3 on the penalty kill. “Well, anytime you outshoot a team 43-10, you definitely deserve to win.” said Wenatchee Wild Head Coach/General Manager Bliss Littler. “We made things pretty hard on ourselves tonight, by not burying our chances. I thought we came out the first couple of shifts and had great energy then we lost it by taking a penalty. We just didn’t bear down on our chances but at the end this time of the year, to get down in the third and find a way to come back is a good sign and then to win in overtime is also a good sign.”

The Wild, winners of seven straight, improves to 31-15-2-3 on the season, moving to within two points of first-place Chilliwack in the Mainland Division; the Spruce Kings slip to12-36-3-2. Wenatchee travels to Surrey to meet the Eagles at 4:00pm on Sunday, February 14^th, and then plays at Chilliwack on Wednesday, February 17^th, at 7:00pm.

Battle For The Border