Wenatchee Wild

The Wenatchee Wild is a Junior A ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League after formely playing in the British Columbia Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Washington. Initially, the team was part of the North American Hockey League, joining as an expansion club for the 2008–09 season, and in that time they were well known for their rivalry with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. The Wild moved to the BCHL for 2015–16, after seeking approval from both Hockey Canada and USA Hockey for three years. The team would end up in the Western Hockey League on June 16, 2023 when the Winnipeg Ice were sold to David White of Shoot the Puck Foundation after the Ice were unable to secure a new arena in the Winnipeg area.
==History==
===NAHL Years (2008–2015)===
On September 12, 2006, ground was broken on a new multipurpose event center that would be home to a new ice hockey team. On February 22, 2008, the North American Hockey League granted Wenatchee Junior Hockey, LLC. with conditional approval for an expansion team. On May 20, 2008, Wenatchee Junior Hockey, LLC. announced the franchise would be the "Wild." The name was chosen by a "name-the-team contest" held at local schools in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. Other potential names for the team were the Wranglers, Bombers, Wonders, Hockeyes, Winning Walruses and Ice Busters. The Wild played their first game on September 17, 2008, losing to the Motor City Metal Jackets 2-1 in overtime. The Wild made a championship run in that first season, winning the division title but losing the championship game 3-2 in overtime. The following season, they came back and won the West Division championship in 2009–10, but were eliminated in the round-robin championship tournament.
On May 13, 2013, the Wild lost their first and only game during the 2013 Robertson Cup Championship Tournament to the Amarillo Bulls 5-0 during the Robertson Cup championship game. On January 19, 2013, USA Hockey approved the transfer of the Wenatchee Wild from the NAHL to the British Columbia Hockey League for the 2013–14 season. However, on May 14, 2013, the Wild announced they would instead relocate the franchise to Hidalgo, Texas and play as the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the NAHL.
On May 22, 2013, the Wenatchee City Council approves a deal to move the Fresno Monsters to Wenatchee and keep their name and logo. The team announced that it had retained coach Bliss Littler from the previous franchise on June 4, 2013.
On April 30, 2015 Wild were approved by USA Hockey and Hockey Canada to transfer from the NAHL to the British Columbia Hockey League.  The Wild had been trying since 2013 to make this transfer but could not get approval from both national governing bodies.  The Wild organization motivation for the move was simply that the BCHL was a better fit travel wise, with the porential savings of tens of thosands of dollars just on travel expenses.
===British Columbia Hockey League (2015–2023)===
On June 1, 2015, the Wenatchee Wild announced that they would be joining the BCHL for the 2015–16 season.
On April 19, 2018 the team won their first Fred Page Cup championship and advanced to the 2018 Doyle Cup.
===Western Hockey League===
On June 16, 2023 the Winnipeg Ice were sold with the intent to be relocated to Wenatchee as the franchise was unable to secure a new arena in the Winnipeg area after relocating to the city in 2019.
==Cowbells==
The team has created an identity for themselves by using cowbells. Similar to the Tampa Bay Rays of the MLB and the Sacramento Kings of the NBA, the Wild have fans ring cowbells in support of the team. After a Wenatchee goal, fans will ring their bells in support. Since 2008, the Wild have hosted a cowbell giveaway, where the first 2,000 fans through the door get a free cowbell. Many fans also bring their own bells to games.
==Season records==
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	OL 	T 	PTS 	GF 	GA 	PIM 	Finish 	Playoffs 	
North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	North American Hockey League 	
2008–09 	58 	35 	19 	4 	— 	74 	197 	182 	1,322 	1st, West 	lost in Robertson Cup Final 	
2009–10 	58 	45 	10 	3 	— 	93 	219 	125 	1,520 	1st, West 	lost in Round Robin 	
2010–11 	58 	34 	21 	3 	— 	71 	207 	148 	1,208 	2nd, West 	lost in 2nd Round 	
2011–12 	60 	36 	17 	7 	— 	79 	165 	102 	1,297 	2nd, West 	lost in 2nd Round 	
2012–13 	60 	39 	15 	6 	— 	84 	197 	147 	1,509 	1st, West 	lost in Robertson Cup Final 	
2013–14 	60 	29 	23 	8 	— 	66 	169 	163 	867 	3rd, Mid-West 	lost in Division Final 	
2014–15 	60 	27 	25 	8 	— 	62 	177 	171 	808 	5th of 8, South 	Won Div. play-in series, 2-0 vs. Corpus Christi IceRaysLost First Round series, 0-3 vs. Lone Star Brahmas 	
British Columbia Hockey League	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	British Columbia Hockey League 	
2015–16 	58 	34 	16 	4 	4 	76 	206 	147 	588 	2nd of 8, Mainland5th of 17, BCHL 	Won Div. Semifinals, 4-1 vs. Langley RivermenLost Div. Finals, 1-4 vs. Chilliwack Chiefs 	
2016-17 	58 	45 	9 	0 	4 	94 	294 	135 	- 	1st of 6, Mainland1st of 17, BCHL 	Won Div. Semifinals, 4-2 vs. Prince George Spruce KingsLost Div. Finals, 0-4 vs. Chilliwack Chiefs 	
2017-18 	58 	37 	16 	1 	4 	79 	241 	158 	- 	3rd of 7, Interior3rd of 17, BCHL 	Won Div. Quarterfinals, 4-0 (Merritt Centennials)Won Div. Semifinals, 4-2 (Vernon Vipers)Won Div. Finals, 4-1 (Trail Smoke Eaters)Won Final, 4-1 (Prince George Spruce Kings)Won 2018 Doyle Cup, (Spruce Grove Saints)Lost in Semifinals 2018 Royal Bank Cup	
2018-19 	58 	32 	20 	2 	4 	70 	202 	160 	- 	3rd Interior 	Won Div. Quarterfinals, 4-3 (West Kelowna Warriors)Won Div. Semifinals, 4-2 (Trail Smoke Eaters)Lost Div. Finals, 1-4 (Vernon Vipers) 	
2019-20 	58 	30 	23 	2 	2 	65 	184 	183 	- 	4th Interior 	Lost Div. Quarterfinals, 1-4 (Vernon Vipers 	
2020-21 	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic 	On Hiatus due to Canada-US border closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22 	54 	22 	26 	4 	1 	153 	174 	50* 	- 	7th Interior 	Lost Conf. Quarterfinals 	
2022-23 	54 	28 	23 	1 	2 	198 	186 	59 	- 	7th Interior 	Lost Conf. Semifinals 	
Note:*- 2021-22 point total includes 1 tie game not otherwise listed.
==WHL Season-by-season record==
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Season 	GP	W 	L 	OTL	SOL	GF 	GA 	Points	Finish 	Playoffs
2023–24	68	34	30	4 	0 	249	268	72 	3rd U.S.	Lost Western Conference quarterfinal
==Robertson Cup==
The Wenatchee Wild hosted the 2010 NAHL Pepsi Robertson Cup.
== External links ==
*Official site
*NAHL website
Category:North American Hockey League team
Category:American ice hockey teams
Category:Established in 2008
Category:British Columbia Hockey League teams
Category:Western Hockey League (junior) teams