Vancouver uses third-period push to nab win against Wild Friday

LANGLEY, British Columbia – After 45 scoreless minutes of hockey in Friday’s Western Hockey League game at Langley Events Centre, the Wenatchee Wild and Vancouver Giants knew that making the most of a single opportunity might be enough to lock up a victory. Then, with a 4-on-3 power play, the Giants struck.

Vancouver broke the deadlock with a one-timer from Ryan Lin, and added two more goals in support, taking a 3-0 win against the Wild on Friday evening to open Wenatchee’s 2025 schedule. The teams racked up 42 shots in the first 40 minutes, but came up empty thanks to timely defense and outstanding goaltending from Brendan Gee and Burke Hood.

For much of the contest, another overtime matchup after the teams’ extra session in Wenatchee in October seemed to be within reach. However, immediately after a faceoff in the Wenatchee end, Ty Halaburda found Lin for a setup at the top of the slot. Lin put his team in front at the 5:15 mark of the third, just six seconds into the 4-on-3 opportunity.

After winning that restart, Jaden Lipinski added a second assist at 8:58 of the period, setting the puck to Cameron Schmidt on the doorstep for a one-timer of his own. Vancouver got its final goal of the night with 7:56 to play, when Halaburda punched in a rebound off an initial shot from Lipinski.

Halaburda, Lin and Schmidt finished the night with a goal and an assist apiece, while Lipinski had a helper on all three Giants goals. Wenatchee was not able to solve Hood in this contest, earning his seventh win of the season with a 27-save shutout. Gee had a valiant effort in net himself, posting 33 saves on 36 Vancouver chances. Lin’s power play goal was the only success for either team on the man-advantage in nine total opportunities.

Wenatchee moved to 13-18-3-1 with Friday’s loss, while Vancouver climbed to 18-14-4-0 with the win. Both teams find themselves in the midst of busy stretches coming out of the holiday break, with the Wild playing six games in their first 10 days back, and Vancouver in the thick of an eight-game run over 13 days.

A three-game road weekend continues Saturday for Wenatchee, with a visit to Portland on the schedule. The opening puck drop at Veterans Memorial Coliseum is scheduled for 6 p.m., with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live. The Wild return home to face the Victoria Royals on Friday, January 10 for Grandparents’ Night presented by Papa Murphy’s. Tickets for that 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.