FRESNO, Calif. – Blake Saylor turned a neutral zone turnover into a breakaway goal that lifted the Wenatchee Wild to a 4-3 overtime victory Saturday over the Fresno Monsters at the Selland Arena in Fresno, Calif. The win was a fitting reversal of fortune for the Wild after suffering an overtime loss to the Monsters Friday night.
Saylor scratched out the win for the Wild with a backhand-to-forehand deke, finishing with a top-shelf shot that sailed over the blocker of Monsters goaltender Macauley Haight.
Jerad Tafoya provided an early spark when he put the Wild on the scoreboard 95 seconds into the contest when he lit the lamp from a very sharp angle just above the goal line on the near side of the ice.
Fresno evened the score 23 seconds into the second period when Zack Wallace scored on a backhander from the slot. The game would not stay tied for long as the Wild would take a 2-goal lead into the third stanza on a pair of second-period power play markers.
The Wild evened the score, 2-2, just over two minutes into the second period on a power-play goal by Carey.Carey then set up Pauly during another power play with four minutes remaining in the second period. Fresno came back in the third period. Mainer scored 77 seconds into the third period to cut Wenatchee’s lead in half. Then, with 36 seconds remaining in regulation, Wallace sent the game to overtime when he scored from the slot off of a pass from Jeffrey Pauluk with an extra attacker on the ice.
Saylor’s game-winning goal came with 58 seconds remaining in overtime.
The Wild (10-7-3) will host the Dawson Creek Rage for a 3-game series at the Town Toyota Center next weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The first two games of the series will begin at 7:05 p.m., and the third game is set to start at 5:05 p.m.
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