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Four teams, three destinations and two unblemished weekends made for one memorable weekend to open the month of December for the Wenatchee Wild Development Teams.

The 18U Wenatchee Wolves ended the weekend perfect against their competition at the Western Exposure Showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada, while the 14U Wolverines left Phoenix with an unbeaten finish of their own at the Western Exposure Showcase in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Wolves opened up the weekend with an 8-2 win over the Anaheim Jr. Ice Dogs that included a hat trick from Luca Petroni and two goals - both in the first period - from Logan Nagle. Wenatchee scored four goals in the first period of that game and opened up its Saturday morning game against the Arizona Bobcats with four first-period goals in a 5-3 win. Andre Cho scored both of his goals in the first period, including one just 1:16 into the game. Weston English delivered a game-winner with 50 seconds left in a 3-2 win over the Colorado Springs Tigers, and Zach Baumann locked up a hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Utah Hockey Academy to close out a four-win weekend for the Wenatchee 18U squad.

The 16U Wilderness battled to an 0-4 finish at the same event, taking a 4-2 loss to the Jr. Sun Devils before suffering a 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Tahoe Hockey Academy. Losses to Golden State Elite (3-1) and the Anaheim Jr. Ice Dogs (8-1) followed on Saturday, with Isaiah Van Zandt scoring two of the four Wenatchee goals on the weekend.

In Phoenix, the 14U Wolverines gutted out a 4-2 win over the Arizona Bobcats and a 3-2 victory against the Wasatch Renegades in Friday's action. Wenatchee was dominant the rest of the way, starting Saturday with a 10-1 win over the Ontario Jr. Reign behind four points from Landon Nagle and two goals and an assist apiece from David Aggen and Carson White-Sibley. An unbeaten five-win weekend for the 14U squad ended with 4-0 shutouts against the Northwest Stars on Saturday and the Jr. Sun Devils on Sunday.

The Wild 12U program spent its weekend in Vancouver, British Columbia and came away battle-tested with three close games against the Vancouver Rangers. The Wild won 2-1 on Saturday and opened up Sunday play with a 7-5 win as well, but closed out the weekend with a 3-2 loss.

As the calendar year winds down, the teams remain on track for strong finishes, even though it's hard for a young player not to turn his attention elsewhere every once in a while.

"In the U.S., once you get to Thanksgiving, everyone starts thinking about Christmas break," said Wenatchee Wild Development Teams hockey director Troy Mick. "Our job as coaches is to keep them motivated, because a lot of these kids have been away for the last three or four months for the first time in their lives. It's natural that you're going to miss your family and miss your own bed, knowing that you're going to have seven or 10 days off for Christmas. You're always human, and that's always going to be in the back of your mind. They've got to realize that every game can mean one more game that the scouts are going to be able to see them play."

The Wild 16U program returns to Canada this coming weekend for a three-game Canadian Sport School Hockey League showcase in Abbotsford, British Columbia, while both the 16U and 18U teams will take part in state Tier 1 competition against the Northwest Stars on Tuesday and Thursday.