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WENATCHEE, Wash. - The first win of the season hasn't arrived yet for the Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy 16-and-Under team, but if the past weekend is any indication, that first win isn't far away.

Wenatchee played three games this past week, finishing with a 5-4 loss Sunday to RINK Hockey Academy from Kelowna, British Columbia - after falling behind 2-0 early, Keagan Nussbaum scored back-to-back goals to tie the game, and Wenatchee eventually took a 4-3 lead with 20 minutes to go, thanks to a power play goal from Mason Richardson. Aiden Andrews and Mason Poitras scored again in the third for RINK after tallying goals earlier in the game.

"They just keep getting better and better," said Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy director Troy Mick. "They're scoring goals on a regular basis, and they're competing really hard. That was a really good weekend for them - the last three weekends, they've been getting better and better. That's a tribute to our coaches putting in the work with them during the week, and we're taking progress and taking steps every week."

The Wild Hockey Academy got off to a great start in Friday's game against Pacific Coast Hockey Academy as well, going up 2-1 before seeing the Sea Devils flip the score to 5-2 in their favor after the first period. Wenatchee got the lead back to two goals twice before ultimately falling 8-5, and dropping a 5-0 decision to RINK at Town Toyota Center on Saturday. The Wild Hockey Academy's 18U team played only one game on the weekend, a 9-3 loss to Pacific Coast Hockey Academy that saw Dublin McGuire and Sean Strasser each finish with a pair of assists, and the teams combine for seven power play goals.

All four Academy teams will travel to Chicago this weekend for the CCM World Invite, the world's largest youth hockey tournament, featuring 500-plus teams and roughly 10,000 athletes. The 16U team will play four pool-play games while the others will play three, with the opportunity to add additional games in the knockout rounds. Mick says this is the first time that all four Academy teams have ever traveled to the same tournament on the same weekend.

"It'll be interesting for me to watch some games, hopefully go on the bench with the coaches as well, and really get a look at these kids, how they're progressing this year but also for next year when they want to try out for our older teams," said Mick. "I want to network with our families and let them know that we're all in this thing together. It will be great to have all of our teams there, and we need our older teams to really be ready to go in Chicago. I think it'll be fun to just get away from Wenatchee with a little team-building, so we're really looking forward to this week."

The 14U and 15O teams will play in the Chicago suburbs, while the 18U team will play at Fifth Third Arena, the current practice home of the Chicago Blackhawks. The 16U team will play at Johnny's Icehouse West, which served as the Blackhawks' official practice facility from 2010 until Fifth Third Arena was opened in 2018. The 16s will be the first team on the ice Friday morning, facing the Odessa Jackalopes U16 team from Texas at 7:30 a.m. Pacific time.