PHOTO: Wenatchee forward Garrett Szydlowski (27) celebrates a goal in a recent Wild home game. Szydlowski scored a first-period goal Saturday in a 3-2 loss at the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. (Photo credit: Russ Alman/Digital Media Northwest)

By Austin Draude, Wenatchee Wild Media Relations & Broadcast Manager

SALMON ARM, British Columbia – Friday’s game in Merritt was a special-teams smorgasbord for the Wenatchee Wild, going 2-for-4 on the power play and killing off all four Centennials chances. Saturday in Salmon Arm, however, the special-teams surge belonged to the Silverbacks.

Salmon Arm scored twice on the man-advantage in the second period and once in the third to earn a 3-2 win over the Wild in a pivotal British Columbia Hockey League Interior Conference matchup, with five teams in the standings entering the night separated by just five points.

One night after firing off the first 12 shots of the game against the Centennials, Wenatchee posted the first eight shots of the night in Saturday’s outing. Garrett Szydlowski dented the scoreboard first, rippling the net with a back-post wrist shot past Matthew Tovell 12:24 into the contest. The Wild came out of the intermission with a 15-6 shots-on-goal margin, and padded the lead 77 seconds out of the break on a point shot from Lucas Marshall, who rang the wrister off the iron and into the net for a 2-0 advantage.

Capitalizing on a pair of power play chances helped the Silverbacks stay in the game in the second – C.J. Foley’s goal down the slot with 9:15 left in the period came on a two-man advantage, while Hayden Stavroff found Casy Laylin for a backdoor one-timer to tie it with 3:24 on the second-period clock.

Salmon Arm posted a 14-5 advantage on shots in the second period, and Laylin struck in transition from the slot at 8:33 of the third to put the Silverbacks in front to stay.

“We’ve got to kill those off,” said Wild head coach Chris Clark. “5-on-5, we were definitely the better team. That one’s frustrating, because you’re up 2-0 on the road, in a difficult place to win. We can’t take seven penalties there, and we have to get some kills – our penalty kill has been really good this year, especially lately. Tonight, we killed (penalties) too much.”

Laylin factored into all three Salmon Arm goals, while Stavroff and Isaac Lambert ended the night with two assists apiece. In all, the Silverbacks finished 3-for-7 on the power play, while the Wild did not capitalize on five opportunities. Saturday’s game saw Wenatchee’s 10-game run with a power play goal come to an end, as well as Ean Somoza’s 12-game point streak and a six-game goal-scoring streak for Luke Weilandt.

The Wild dropped to 25-22-1-2 for the year, while Salmon Arm rose to 26-17-4-2. The Wild open a four-game homestand Friday against the Merritt Centennials to wrap up the regular season, with the opening puck drop at Town Toyota Center set for 7:05 p.m. Live coverage is available on Newsradio 560 KPQ and BCHL TV.

FRIDAY March 10th @ Merritt Centennials

Wild goaltender Owen Millward/Photo Digital Media NW
Wild goaltender Owen Millward/Photo Digital Media NW
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PHOTO: Wenatchee goaltender Owen Millward at Town Toyota Center after a recent Wild home game. Millward made 12 saves Friday, earning a shutout victory in Wenatchee’s 13-0 victory at the Merritt Centennials. (Photo credit: Russ Alman/Digital Media Northwest)

MERRITT, British Columbia – The Wenatchee Wild didn’t get off to a satisfying start the last time they were in Merritt, but still scored a satisfying win over the Centennials two weeks ago. They left the ice more than satisfied with the result this time around. Lucas Marshall scored his first junior goal to touch off an offensive onslaught, as the Wild set a new team record with a 13-0 win over the Centennials, breaking a six-year-old record along the way and seeing a top forward tie a team record of his own.

Marshall roped a shot past Conor Sullivan from the left point less than four minutes into the game to put the Wild in front. Ean Somoza tagged the Centennials for two more in quick fashion later in the period, scoring on a deflection at the 5:09 mark and earning a power play goal at 6:44 of the period. Wenatchee fired off the first 12 shots on goal in the game, and took a 3-0 lead to the locker room.

Parker Murray stuffed in a power play goal of his own 5:24 into the second, and a Cade Littler wrist shot found the back of the net 53 seconds later for a 5-0 advantage. Alexios Georgaklis scored off of a faceoff at 9:44 of the period to make it a 6-0 game.

Somoza got his hat trick with a power play marker to the back post with 6:14 left in the second period, making it a 7-0 game. Wenatchee added goals from Jason Stefanek and Micah Berger for a nine-goal cushion going to the third, with Berger’s goal coming with just 10 seconds showing on the clock.

Stefanek and Berger traded goals again in the third, with Stefanek tallying just 44 seconds out of the break to put the visitors into double-digit territory. Just 18 seconds after Berger’s second goal and with the Wild leading 11-0, Luke Weilandt notched a goal of his own with 9:21 left in the period, giving him a goal in his sixth straight game to tie a Wenatchee record. Garrett Szydlowski sneaked one into the top corner of the net with 35 seconds to go, capping a night for the history books.

“There isn’t a lot to complain about when you win like that,” said head coach Chris Clark. “We got contributions from all four lines and all seven defensemen. Owen (Millward) probably gets overlooked, but he made some really good saves, and especially after not playing for so long, to come in and have success, that was good for us. It was a good team win.”

Stefanek and Berger each finished the night with two goals and three assists, while Somoza and Littler posted four-point showings of their own. Somoza climbed all alone into fifth on the team’s all-time scoring list, notching his 120th career point on the hat-trick tally.

Wenatchee finished 2-for-4 on the power play, earning at least one goal on the man-advantage for the 10th straight game, and killed off all four Merritt power plays. Owen Millward made 12 saves, picking up his 11th win and second shutout victory of the year.

Wenatchee earned its ninth win in 11 games, moving to 25-21-1-2 for the year, while the Centennials slipped to 12-32-3-2 with the loss.

 

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, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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