WENATCHEE, Wash. – Nick Kulmanovsky made 36 saves on 37 shots to lead the Alaska Avalanche to a 2-1 victory over the Wenatchee Wild Friday night at the Town Toyota Center.
After beginning the game with plenty of sustained offensive pressure and prime scoring chances, the Wild found themselves down 1-0 after one period of play when Mitch Kontny scored a power-play goal on a deflection 31 seconds prior to the first intermission. Joe Schmitz and Jordan Krebsbach assisted.
The Avalanche doubled its lead a little over two minutes into the third period when Patrick Kinkopf scored from the near point off of a pass from Kontny. Matt Cope got the Wild on the scoreboard at the 8:05 mark. Shawn Pauly and Blake Saylor assisted.
The Wild had three more power-play chances over the remainder of regulation, but Kulmanovsky refused to give up the game-tying goal. Wild netminder Greg Lewis stopped 21 of Alaska’s 23 shots. Wenatchee was 1-for-8 on power-play chances while Alaska was 1-for-5. Game 2 of the Wild’s home opening series against the Avs is at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at the Town Toyota Center. Pre-game show on 560 KPQ is set for 6-45pm.
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