Wenatchee Wild takes three against Kenai River

WENATCHEE - It's become apparent that the Wenatchee Wild love to play against the Kenai River Brown Bears.

After the latest three-game sweep, the Wild have won seven in a row against the Brown Bears.

Wenatchee is now 28-20-6 and holds a four-point lead over Coulee Region for third place in the North American Hockey League's Midwest Division.

Parker Tuomie continued his torrid stretch in the first game against Kenai River after scoring on a power play in the first period to give Wenatchee the early 1-0 lead.

The Wild extended their lead to 3-0 in the third period after goals by David Powlowski and Alex Rauter. Goaltender Chase Perry also turned away a Brown Bear penalty shot with a glove save.

Kenai River was able to cut the deficit to 3-2 after a pair of third period goals. However, Brendan Harris wold provide an insurance goal and the Wild skated to a 4-2 win.

Wenatchee continued its dominance over the Brown Bears with a 6-1 win Saturday night.

The Wild led 4-0 after two periods and cruised to their sixth consecutive win against Kenai River.

"All the way around, that was a tough effort on our part," head coach Bliss Littler said. "I thought all aspects were pretty good, that we got out nose dirty right from the start. When we do that, we give ourselves a chance. Again tomorrow we'll play a very desperate team; it'll be a great challenge for us. I'm looking forward to it."

It took longer than expected, but Wenatchee was able to complete its sweep of Kenai River with a 4-3 overtime win.

The Brown Bears led early, 1-0, but Rauter and Powlowski were able to each score in the first period to help the Wild regain the lead.

Kenai River was able to tie the game at 2-2 just 28 seconds in to the second period. Nicholas Rivera was able to give Wenatchee its second lead of the night, but the Brown Bears tied the game again with just minutes remaining in the third period.

Tuomie ended the game late in the overtime session after collecting a short rebound.

"Proud of the effort all weekend," Littler said. "Not much gas left in the tank for either team, pretty gritty effort for us. We're 10-3-2 our last 15, so we're starting to play good hockey at the right time of the year."

Wenatchee will host the Midwest Division leading Fairbanks Ice Dogs for a two-game set Friday and Saturday.