Wild power play hammers away for 6-3 win Saturday at Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. – After being thwarted by strong goaltending Friday in Vancouver, the Wenatchee Wild were eager to get back on the scoreboard against a U.S. Division opponent Saturday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. A resurgent power play gave the Wild just about everything they needed to pack two points on the bus with them.

Wenatchee’s power play scored three goals, and added a penalty-shot marker from Evan Friesen just past the game’s halfway point, and rolled to a 6-3 road win over the Portland Winterhawks. Saturday’s game ended a six-game-in-nine-day stretch for the Winterhawks, and delivered the club only its second regulation loss in its last 10 outings.

Shaun Rios delivered the first two strikes for Wenatchee in the opening period, teaming up with Maddix McCagherty to put the Wild in front on an odd-man rush 7:50 into the game. A delay of game call against Tyson Jugnauth put Wenatchee on a 5-on-3 power play at the 11:38 mark, and Rios tacked onto his haul with a snipe from the right-wing faceoff dot just eight seconds later.

Portland tied the game on a fadeaway shot from Tyson Jugnauth from the blue line with 34 seconds remaining in the first period, and Joel Plante’s goal in transition at 2:49 of the second. Friesen’s penalty shot with 8:03 left in the second put Wenatchee ahead for good, rattling one just inside the cage after being hooked by Jugnauth on his way to the Portland net.

The power play got the majority of its work done in the final 20 minutes – after a takeaway at the high slot, Zane Saab cleaned up a rebound off a slot chance from Brendan Dunphy halfway through the third, and Rios hit McCagherty for a snap from the left-wing circle and a third power play goal with 6:22 to play.

Portland brought Ondrej Stebetak to the bench with four minutes remaining, looking to erase a three-goal gap, but Rios’s long toss went wide and bounced out front for Friesen off the end boards to bang in for his second goal. Kyle McDonough gave the Winterhawks a final highlight with a shorthanded goal with 1:49 to play.

“It was a huge win, just with the circumstances,” said head coach Don Nachbaur. “We didn’t play all that well (Friday) night, had a long trip to get to Vancouver, and had a long trip right after the game to get into Portland at five in the morning. Our guys put in the effort, and we were really sharp early in the game with Rios getting us two quick goals. Friesen on the penalty shot, that was the turning point, because they were coming at that point. I really liked our compete, and our structure was excellent. We denied a really good offensive team any chances. All things considered, I’m really happy with the effort our guys gave.”

Rios finished with two goals and two assists, and Friesen picked up two goals and an assist of his own. McCagherty and Reid Andresen also finished with two points apiece. Brendan Gee earned his second win of the year, stopping 18 of Portland’s 21 shots, while Stebetak went 20-for-25 in the loss. All told, the Wild had eight power plays, earning three power play goals in a game for the second time in three weeks. Wenatchee finished 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.

The three-game road weekend wraps up with a visit to the Tri-City Americans on Sunday. The opening puck drop at Toyota Center in Kennewick is scheduled for 4:05 p.m., with live coverage on 1340 The Hawk 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.