News

WENATCHEE, Wash. - After going a dominant 4-0 at the Canadian Sport School Hockey League's U15 prep showcase in Penticton last weekend, the Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy's 14-and-under weekend program has continued to impress after a weekend set against the Seattle Jr. Kraken. The Wild 14U team routed its visitors from the west on Saturday by 7-1 and 6-3 finals, with two strong weekends of competition after opening the season with a semifinal berth at the CCM Showcase in Denver.

"We're starting to see the team come together and play a game where we're starting to move as one, and that's what we want to see," said Wild 14U head coach Aaron Azevedo. "In (Saturday afternoon's) game, we saw a lot of offensive power, but we still need to tighten up some of that team concept. I'm very happy with what they're bringing and what they're showing."

The Academy's U18 and U17 CSSHL teams both traveled to Canada this past weekend, with the U18 team playing in three games at the league's Shawnigan Lake showcase. Max Workman scored goals in both a 4-1 defeat to the Delta Hockey Academy and a 6-2 loss against the North Shore Warriors, while Carson Fowler made 34 stops in a 5-0 loss to St. George's School to close out the weekend.

The U17 team squared off with two teams on its Shawnigan Lake swing, taking losses to the Pacific Coast Hockey Academy and Shawnigan Lake School by 5-2 and 8-2 counts. Brayden Barker, Dominic Deery and Braden Boman all tallied points in both games for Wenatchee.

"I thought our first period (Saturday) was good," said Wild U17 and U18 co-head coach Jordan McTaggart. "Any time you can come out of the first tied 1-1 on the road, it's a good thing. There was a span of about five or six minutes in the second that really shifted the game. When we spotted them a couple of goals there, it was really tough to come back. I thought our third period wasn't too bad, but the second period is one that we need to clean up, and I think if we can take care of that and play a full 60 (minutes), it'll be good looking forward."

While the Wenatchee CSSHL squads will enjoy a weekend off, this weekend marks an important turn in the schedule for the Wild 2008 team, with its visit to the CCM World Invite in Chicago. The 2008 team will play a minimum of three games in Chicago - the schedule begins with games Friday at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time against the Affton Americans from St. Louis, Missouri and 4:10 p.m. Pacific time against the Tri-State Spartans based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. The round-robin schedule wraps up early Saturday morning against the Maine Nordiques Prep program, with knockout-round games slated throughout the day Saturday into Sunday.