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Mason Lynnes
Photo Courtesy: Divanelly Blanco

WENATCHEE, Wash. - The Canadian Sport School Hockey League season is officially open for the Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy - while the opening weekend didn't yield any wins for the program's CSSHL teams, it did produce three very competitive games.

The 18-and-Under team played a rare Sunday evening game, welcoming RINK Academy of Kelowna to kick off the league's 2025-26 schedule. RINK snared a 5-0 win, but the game's outcome changed considerably in the final four minutes - Wenatchee remained within two goals for the majority of the game, but a RINK power play touched off a three-goal outburst as the clock ticked down. Mason Lynnes anchored the Wild Hockey Academy in net, making 30 saves.

"They scored in the first minute, and then in the last few minutes, we took too many penalties," said Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy director Troy Mick. "We lost two defensemen, so we were down to four - they were tired, but they did a very good job considering they were on every other shift. We have a lot of work to do - we weren't very good in d-zone coverage, and our compete. We addressed it on Monday, and it's been a good week of practice, so we're looking forward to going into the weekend with them."

The 16U team's game Friday at Shawnigan Lake School in British Columbia was also the opening game for the league in its U17 division - a three-goal third-period push sent Shawnigan Lake past the Academy, 6-4. Rylan O'Mahony scored the game's first goal with 2:15 left in the first period, and after a late game-tying goal from Shawnigan Lake, Keagan Nussbaum went out and snatched the lead for Wenatchee a second time at 6:22 of the second. Nussbaum scored two goals and added an assist for the visitors, but two power play goals made the difference for Shawnigan Lake.

Saturday's game at Pacific Coast Hockey Academy was even closer, despite an identical two-goal margin. Luca Lira and Jacobi Magnotta erased a two-goal PCHA lead in the second period, and the game was tied entering the final five minutes before the hosts pulled out a 5-3 win. Mikai Mast made 61 saves for the Wild Hockey Academy in the loss.

Three of the Academy's four teams are in action this weekend, with the 14U program taking a weekend off after two losses to STAR Hockey Academy this past weekend. The 15O team faces the Sno-King Thunderbirds for a pair of road games to continue Northwest Amateur Hockey League play. CSSHL action continues for the 16U and 18U teams, as Shawnigan Lake School drops by Town Toyota Center for a pair of games against the 18s, while the 16s get ready for a weekend home-and-home against Coeur d'Alene Academy.

"For (the 15O team), it's basically Portland, Boise, Montana and all over Washington state," said Mick. "It's a pretty good league for them - there's not a lot of plane travel, so it keeps the expenses down for the families. We play a lot of games at home in the first half, and then in the second half we're on the road more, just because of so many tournaments in Wenatchee, and Wild games where we don't have a whole lot of ice. We're going to have to take advantage of the first half of the season before we become road warriors."

Saturday's home game for the 16U team gets underway at 3 p.m., followed by a 5:30 p.m. puck drop for the 18U team against Shawnigan Lake. Sunday's rematch for the 18s begins at 10 a.m.