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Shawn Pauly netted a hat trick to help the Wenatchee (Wash.) Wild defeat the Kenai River Brown Bears 5-1 Wednesday in North American Hockey League action at the Soldotna Sports Center in front of 303 fans.

"We supported each other quite well," said Wild head coach Paul Baxter. Baxter said his team played well defensively, making it difficult for the Brown Bears to break out of their own zone. When they did get the puck out, his players backchecked hard and stripped a lot of pucks, he said.

The Wild tallied two power-play goals in the second period to give them a 4-0 advantage after two periods of play. With Kegan Kiel in the box for tripping, Wenatchee went on its first man advantage of the second.

Wild defenseman Kyle Brodie ripped a shot but it was blocked. Tyler Mort picked up the puck and buried it top shelf past Martin just under eight minutes into the second.

The Wild, much like the first period, fired several pucks at Martin. They put 16 on net in the second and 15 in the first. In both the first and second, the Brown Bears came away with four shots each period.

"We got outworked in almost every area of the game," said interim head coach Oliver David. "We're still trying to weed through who's going to be able to do this full time."

Wenatchee added a late, second-period goal while on the power play. Jed McGlasson went to the sin bin for slashing. After playing a short, 30-second four-on-four, Christian Hilbrich came out of the box, giving the Wild the man advantage. The puck was thrown to the net. A pile of Wild and Brown Bears gathered around Martin. As the crowd moved to the left, the puck remained in front of the goal. Pauly then put the puck in the empty net. The goal -- Pauly's second of the night -- came with 2:29 left in the second.

With the win, Wenatchee improves to 23-4-0 and is in first place of the West Division. The Brown Bears fall to 5-18-1 are in last place of the West.

"We've got a lot of guys who accept their roles," Baxter said. "They compete hard for each other."

McGlasson pulled his team within three when he scored with just over six minutes to play in the third period. Left alone in front of the net, McGlasson buried a shot past Wild goaltender James Adamo when it came his way. Derek Bayagich and Brad Fusaro added the assists on the goal.

The line of McGlasson, Bayagich and Fusaro was new for the Brownies on Wednesday. Fusaro and McGlasson played together in high school at Kenai Central. Being so far away from .500, David said he switched up the lines in an attempt to jump start his squad.

Pauly added his third goal of the night two minutes later to give his team a 5-1 lead.

McGlasson had one of the best scoring chances of the second late in the period. Bayagich threw a pass in front of the Wild's net. McGlasson put a shot on net, but Adamo turned the shot away.

The Wild jumped out to a quick lead just 15 seconds after the puck dropped. Pauly got his first of the night when he put the opening goal past Kenai River net minder Mike Martin.

Much of the first was played in Kenai River's zone. The Wild peppered Martin with 15 first-period shots. The Brown Bears managed just four shots. Wenatchee's Adamo turned away all of them.

With just under six minutes to play, the Brownies went on the man advantage after Nolan Youngmun was called for interference.

The best chance of the power play, however, came for the Wild. Armand Deswardt and Duncan McKellar broke into Kenai River's zone. Deswardt slid McKellar a pass, but Martin denied his shot.

Just as the power play ended, McKellar came in on a breakaway. But Martin stood strong and denied McKellar's prime scoring opportunity. He made a move to his right and sent a low, backhand shot toward the net. Martin extended his left pad to make the save.

At the end of the period, the Wild again rushed Kenai River's zone. Jeff Jubinville broke in down the left side. He slid a cross-ice pass to Michael Di Puma, and Di Puma buried the one-timer behind Martin with 1:35 to play in the period.

The first period ended with Wenatchee leading 2-0.

David said Wenatchee won most of the battles for the puck.

"We got beat by a very solid team tonight," he said.

Mike Nesper can be reached at mike.nesper@peninsulaclarion.com.

Wild 5, Brown Bears 1

Wenatchee 2 2 1 -- 5

Kenai River 0 0 1 -- 1

First period -- 1. Wenatchee, Pauly (Deswardt, Mort), 0:15; 2. Wenatchee, Di Puma (Jubinville, Mingo), 18:25. Penalties -- Wenatchee, 1 for 2:00.

Second period -- 3. Wenatchee, Mort (Brodie, Deswardt), pp, 7:48; 4. Wenatchee, Pauly (Youngmun, Young), pp, 17:31. Penalties -- Wenatchee, 3 for 9:00; Kenai Rive, 5 for 13:00.

Third period -- 5. Kenai River, McGlasson (Fusaro, Bayagich), 13:48; 6. Wenatchee, Pauly (Mort, Deswardt), 15:53. Penalties -- None.

Shots on goal -- Wenatchee, 15-16-9-- 40; Kenai River, 4-4-6-- 14.

Goalies -- Wenatchee, Adamo (14 shots, 13 saves); Kenai River, Martin (40 shots, 35 saves).

Power plays -- Wenatchee, 2 for 4; Kenai River, 0 for 3. Wild topple Brown Bears