WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy’s 14-and-Under team may not have won a state title in 2025-26, or even finished the season with more than a handful of wins. However, if the goal is to be playing the best hockey of the season at year’s end, putting a fright into three Canadian Sport School Hockey League teams might just be the best way of proving it.

The season got off to a rocky start for a Wild 14U team that finished with five wins, but the club turned the corner in mid-November by throwing four goals on the board against the Cariboo Cougars U15 team at the Pat Quinn Elite U15 Invitational in suburban Vancouver, British Columbia. Then, Wenatchee rattled off three straight wins at its Junior Exposure Tournament at Town Toyota Center over the Thanksgiving weekend, knocking off the Portland Jr. Winterhawks twice and the Kamloops Jr. Blazers once.

“At the midseason point, we were still trying to build a lot of culture and community,” said Wenatchee head coach Travis Moore, who took the reins at mid-season. “I just really drove bringing the team together – off-ice, on-ice, and really challenged them to understand the basics in our strategy. It was just reiterating the fact that this is still a game, and we don’t have to take ourselves seriously all the time. Our attitude, energy and effort are critical, and that’s what I pushed the rest of the season.”

After a hefty pace to the first half of the season, the schedule slowed considerably in the second half. The state tournament concluded with a one-goal game against eventual champion STAR Academy from the Seattle metro, and then the 14s headed to the CSSHL’s Edge School showcase in Calgary, Alberta two weeks later.

Three teams found themselves pushed to the brink – Wenatchee briefly took a second-period lead against North Shore before seeing the Warriors surge to an 8-5 win. The next day, they stayed within sight from start to finish before seeing RINK Academy secure a 6-3 victory. The following day, they set the tone in a final showdown with STAR by scoring a goal just 1:55 into the game, and scoring two more goals that each cut a STAR lead to a single marker.

“We’d been the underdog all year, so it’s been nice to go out and we can usually keep the games pretty tight, as long as we’re working hard early and continuing that through every rep and every shift,” said Moore. “We missed a couple of kids on a couple of tournaments, which would have made a huge difference.”

Hunter McIntosh led the team with 37 points, including 25 goals. The 14U team saw several players called up during the season, filling in for a 16U club that also fought its battles with the injury bug at times.

“They did phenomenally,” said Moore. “It was amazing to watch them take their skill set at the level and age where they currently play, and make a huge leap from 14U AAA to 16U prep-level hockey. They battled hard, and it was exceptional – it was a great opportunity for them, and it was fantastic to see as a coach.”

Current 15O coach Spencer White will rejoin the 14U team as its head coach for the 2026-27 season, after serving as the team’s assistant coach during the 2024-25 season. Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy tryouts for the 2026-27 season are scheduled for April 17 to 19 at Town Toyota Center and the Weinstein Beverage Rink in Wenatchee. Registration is currently open for the 2026-27 tryouts – for more information or to sign up, visit www.wenatcheewildhockeyacademy.com.