PHOTO CREDIT: Design Cafe Photography

The Wenatchee U18AAA Wolves took part in the ECEL “Play The Beach Spring Classic” over the weekend in West Palm Beach, FL and posted a strong 2-0-2 record at the event.
The showcase opened on Thursday at 5p for the Wolves with a hard fought 2-1 shootout loss to Elite Hockey Academy. After falling behind 1-0 in the first period, the Wolves answered quickly to tie on a goal by Rylan Marcum with the helper from Andrew Alonzo. “The play from both teams was pretty even throughout the game. We had some good looks, they had some good looks, but we couldn’t find the back of the net”, reported Development Teams Coach Jordan McTaggart. “Both teams had six Power Plays. I think you could say both teams weren’t too happy to give up that many power plays and for us to not score with the man advantage makes it hard to win games.” Coach McTaggart applauded a good overall team effort, and one player in particular stood out for him. “ (Goalie) Braeden Bovey again was our best player; he might have made one of the best gloves saves I have seen in a midget game in a long time.” In the shootout Elite Hockey scored once and it was enough to lock down the win.
Back at it bright and early with an 8a faceoff with the Washington Little Caps. Wenatchee got off to a quick start. “We scored the 2nd shift of the game and then sat back and let them dictate the play the first half. Down 3-1 going into the second half (following the ice cut) we came out hard and went up 4-3. They tied it up late in the game to force OT”, said Coach McTaggart. The Little Caps nabbed a 5-4 win with an overtime goal. “Again, I thought we had the better of the chances but a breakdown led to their winning goal.” Wolves goals came from Rylan Marcum, Andrew Alonzo, Kai Belliveau, and Drake Flynn. Braeden Bovey was in net once again for Wenatchee, and he would play every Wolves game in the event. The line of Belliveau, Alonzo and Marcum combined for 7 points in the game.
Back on the ice at 1p, the Wolves played a strong bounce-back game with a 6-1 win over the PHA Icemen after the tough morning loss. Coach McTaggart: “The guys came out hard and didn’t look back. Hunter Hodgson got his first of the year with a nice top-shelf shot from the point. He’s been good for us all year and it was nice to see him finally get rewarded with one.” Other Wenatchee goals came from Ian Williams (x2), Andrew Alonzo, Kai Belliveau, and Rylan Marcum with Braeden Bovey earning the win.
Wenatchee’s showcase slate concluded with a convincing 5-1 win over the 95 Giants (from Attleboro, MA) at 8a on Saturday. Drake Flynn pumped in a pair, with additional goals scored by Kai Belliveau, Jake Measel, and Andrew Alonzo. Goalie Braeden Bovey closed out the week with a sub 2.00 GAA.
“It was a great way to end the weekend for the Wolves”, claimed Coach McTaggart. “The line of Alonzo, Belliveau, and Marcum took a big step forward and was dominant all weekend long. Bovey again stood tall for us when we got into penalty trouble. Coming away with 6 out of a possible 8 points made for a pretty good first ECEL showcase and hopefully, we can take that momentum into next weekend.”
The next weekend Coach McTaggart referenced has the Wolves visiting the Northwest Stars on Saturday March 27 in Lynnwood, WA for Game 1 of a Best-of-Three schedule. Games 2 and 3 return to the iFiber Rink at Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee on Friday April 2 (5:30p) and Saturday April 3 (9:00a). Both teams are slated to advance to the Tier I Pacific District Tournament to be held in Phoenix April 8-11. The best-of-three will determine seeding as the teams advance.
The games will be streamed live here: https://bit.ly/U18WolvesLive