Wenatchee Special Teams Come Through Wednesday, but Wild Fall 5-2

BRANDON, Manitoba – Wenatchee’s victory on Tuesday at the Moose Jaw Warriors certainly qualified as a bounce-back win, but a win over an East Division contender Wednesday would have put a real bounce in the club’s step with two games to go on its six-game East Division road trip.

On their home ice at Westoba Place, though, it seemed that it was the Brandon Wheat Kings who got the bounces in the end. They got the two points at the end of the night as well, snaring a 5-2 victory over the Wild to keep pace in an extremely crowded race for a division championship. The Wild dropped to 18-27-3-1 with the loss, while the Wheat Kings equaled Saskatoon for second in the East Division standings, with identical 25-16-3-3 records. Both the Wheat Kings and Blades now sit two points back of division leader Prince Albert with 21 games to go in the regular season.

Brandon jumped in front first, as Joby Baumuller fired a wrist shot down the slot just 4:38 into the game for a 1-0 lead. With 6:24 left in the opening stanza, Nolan Flamand airmailed a pass to the Wild blue line, catching Marcus Nguyen in stride, and he walked the puck down the right wing for a wrist shot to make it a 2-0 game. Brandon went to the dressing room up three, after Flamand pushed in a puck sitting off the post to Brendan Gee’s right with 2:52 to go in the period. Nguyen’s shot from the right-wing boards clipped Nicholas Johnson in front of the net, but Flamand pounced on the back-side rebound.

A five-minute Brandon power play forced the Wild to get their work done on the penalty kill – a 2-on-1 rush allowed Miles Cooper to set up Tye Spencer for a one-timer in transition at 8:28 of the second period to trim the lead to 3-1. The next 26 minutes proved a stalemate, until Baumuller’s second goal with 5:32 to go in the game – with Ben Binder Nord blocked off at the edge of the Wild slot, Baumuller found the puck nearby and snapped home a shot to make it a three-goal game again.

Binder Nord and Adam Belusko both landed themselves in the penalty box in the final minutes, allowing the Wild to bring Gee to the bench for a 6-on-3 opportunity. With one second left on Binder Nord’s penalty, Dawson Seitz’s shot from high in the zone found the back of the net off Zane Saab’s stick to put Wenatchee back in the game with 3:04 to go. However, needing another goal on the remaining power play time, the Wild again cleared the net before Carter Klippenstein ran the puck down to the top of the Wenatchee slot and tossed home the uncontested chance with 2:18 to play.

Baumuller led the scoring for the Wheat Kings with a pair of goals, while Flamand and Nguyen each ended the night with a goal and an assist. Carson Bjarnason made 34 saves to earn the win, while Gee took the loss in a 31-save performance. Spencer’s goal was Wenatchee’s sixth on the penalty kill this season, while Saab helped the Wild finish 1-for-4 on the power play and clear away all four Brandon power plays. Luka Shcherbyna saw a four-game point streak come to an end, while Shaun Rios’s three-game streak also concluded.

Wenatchee’s road trip continues Friday, as the Wild travel to Regina for their only matchup of the year against the Pats. The opening puck drop at Brandt Center is set for 5 p.m. Pacific time, with live coverage on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live. The Wild return home to face the Portland Winterhawks for their “Hockey Is My Valentine” promotion on February 14, presented by Carl’s Jr., with ticket specials for singles and couples available through the Wild front office.

2025-26 season tickets are now on sale – for more information, call 509-888-7825, or visit 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.