16-Year-Old’s First WHL Goal Sparks Wild Comeback Bid

Jake Mintenko is 16, and Saturday night will be remembered at the Town Toyota Center, where He scored his first Western Hockey League goal. It came at the 12-minute mark of the second period and kept the Wild alive in a game that was slipping away.

It also made a little history. With Mintenko’s goal, every skater on Wenatchee’s active roster now has at least one career point in a Wild uniform.

Riley Brown followed 26 seconds later, punching in the second of two point-blank rebounds to make it 3-2. The two goals came on back-to-back shifts.

How Kamloops Built the Lead

The Blazers got there early. They finished the first period with 11 of their last 12 shots, and two went in. Eli Tverdovsky slithered down the slot and put a forehand past Tobias Tvrznik at 11:40. With under a minute left, Andrew Thomson’s shot slid wide and found Mikhail Cherepanov at the back of the crease, who nudged it home for a 2-0 lead.

Cooper Moore added a power-play goal just past the 11-minute mark of the second, finishing a backdoor one-timer off a River Arnason pass. That made it 3-0, and the Wild trailed by three for less than a minute.

Wenatchee Wild

The Final Push

Wenatchee kept coming. The Wild had a clear advantage at the faceoff dot in the third and generated dangerous looks, including a late push with the extra attacker. Kamloops goaltender Kaeden Tate stopped 29 of 31 shots to hold on for his fourth win in five decisions.

Tvrznik was sharp again, stopping 39 shots a night after his 40-save shutout. The penalty kill went 3-for-4 against a Blazers power play that began the weekend atop the WHL leaderboard. Caelan Joudrey also played his 150th game with the Wild.

Wenatchee finished the weekend at 3-6-1-0. Kamloops improved to 5-3-2-0.

What’s Next at the Wolves Den

The homestand continues next Sunday, October 25, as Kamloops returns for Daddy-Daughter Night and another Fred Meyer Sunday Funday. Puck drop is at 4 p.m.

On Monday, David Rayfield starts his seventh Military Appreciation Campout on the arena balcony. He’s aiming to sell 1,000 tickets for the November 7 game against Everett. Tickets are available in person or by phone at 509-888-7825.

For Wenatchee Valley fans, the weekend showed a young team that doesn’t quit. There’s plenty to like about a lineup where a 16-year-old can score his first goal and the whole building stands up.