The Alaska Avalanche beat the Wenatchee Wild, 3-1, in a contest where the winning goal was scored in the first period but the game remained close throughout.

A goal 12:50 into the the first period by Zach Smith proved to be the game winner, and powered Alaska to the victory The Avalanche had gotten the advantage when Wenatchee's Matt Cope was sent off for interference. Matt Friese assisted on the tally.

The Wild were stymied by Alaska netminder Nick Kulmanovsky, who stopped 28 shots during the victory. Kulmanovsky managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 2.79 prior to the game.

The Avalanche were paced by Andy Pearson, who registered one goal. Pearson scored 18:59 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Alaska. Eliot Grauer picked up the assist.

Alaska put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Wenatchee to score on any of its four power plays.

Alaska also got a goal from Joe Schmitz as well. Other players who recorded assists for Alaska were Wehebe Darge and Jake Williams, who each chipped in one.

The Wild could not produce up to they normal offensive output. Wenatchee averages 3.6 goals per game. The Wild could not stay out of the penalty box, as the team accrued 34 minutes in penalties during the game.

Wenatchee was led by DJ Vandercook, who scored the team's only goal. Vandercook scored 5:09 into the second period to make the score 2-1 Alaska. Carl-Johan Sjogren assisted on the tally.

The Avalanche incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. The Wild's Brandon Jaeger stopped 26 shots out of the 29 that he faced.