Tri-City ekes out 5-4 shootout win Sunday as Wild, Ams finish preseason play

KENNEWICK – After an entertaining five games in Wenatchee, Everett and Kennewick, the Wenatchee Wild were just fine with extending the Western Hockey League preseason by another five minutes on Sunday afternoon…and then some.

The Tri-City Americans got a redirect from Jordan Gavin with 2:08 remaining in regulation and a second-round shootout goal from Cruz Pavao to steal a 5-4 victory from the Wild at Toyota Arena in the preseason finale for both teams. Wenatchee now gets set for its regular-season opener Saturday evening at Town Toyota Center against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The teams barely had enough time to get settled in before Hayden Moore put Wenatchee ahead first, walking the puck to the bottom of the left-wing circle and slipping a shot past Kyle Kelsey 34 seconds out of the gate. Tri-City answered shortly after, as Carter Kingerski tossed home a shot from the right-wing circle to tie the game at the 5:21 mark.

The Americans hopped in the driver’s seat in the second period, posting 19 shots to Wenatchee’s three and taking the lead on a shot along the ice from Gavin Garland at the 6:45 mark. The lead went to two goals at 9:35, when Pavao skated across the top of the crease and tossed a chance past Noah Stenvig for a 3-1 Ams advantage.

Wenatchee got the momentum back in the third, putting up an 18-9 advantage of its own on the shot chart. The scoring started with a short-side rip from Ben Davis on the right wing two minutes in. Moore picked up his second goal on a turnaround toss to the net with 6:20 left, and Nathan Danielson capped his first WHL preseason with a breakaway no-doubter to put the Wild up 4-3 with 3:09 to go.

However, Tri-City’s response came just 61 seconds later from Jordan Gavin, redirecting a scoring chance from Garland to even the game at 4-4. Pavao was the only player to net a goal in the three-round shootout.

“I thought we had a really good first period, but kind of fell asleep there in the second,” said Wild associate head coach Chris Clark. “We turned a lot of pucks over – give Tri-City credit, they came at us hard in the second (period). You’ve got to be proud of the guys for their effort in the third – our third game in three nights and down two goals going to the third, to come back and take the lead, that was a great effort from our guys in the third. When you get into overtime and the shootout, anything can happen at that point, but I thought the first and third (periods) were really encouraging.”

Gavin and Garland tag-teamed for a goal and two assists apiece for the Americans, while Pavao notched one of each. Kelsey went the distance for the win, making 30 saves. Stenvig took the loss behind 38 saves, with Moore’s two goals representing the only multi-point outing of the day for the Wild. Wenatchee finished with the advantage on special teams, scoring once in five power play chances and turning aside all seven Tri-City power plays. Maddix McCagherty saw a four-game goal-scoring streak halted, but did end the day with an assist.

Wenatchee returns to home ice for “509 Night” presented by Town Toyota, and its regular season opener Saturday against the Seattle Thunderbirds, with the opening puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m. Tickets for that game and all 34 regular-season home games are on sale now by phone at 509-888-7825, or by visiting the team office at Town Toyota Center. Wild 2024-25 season tickets also remain on sale – 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.