The Whitecourt Wolverines played a couple of games against the Canmore Eagles on March 29 and 30 in the second round of the 2024 Alberta Junior Hockey League playoffs.
On Friday, March 29, the Whitecourt Wolverines hosted the Canmore Eagles in game-one of the second round, winning 3-0.
The Canmore Eagles managed to outshoot the Whitecourt Wolverines 11-10 in the first period. However, neither team was able to score in the first 20 minutes.
Whitecourt’s Colby Browne scored the lone goal of the second period at 13:45, with Jalen Bianchet and Evan Arnold credited with the assist on Browne’s third goal of the postseason.
Shots on goal were tied 12-12 in the second period, with the Wolverines taking a 1-0 lead heading into the second intermission
Then Kaden Wiltsie scored his first goal of the postseason for the Wolverines just 2:55 into the third period, with assistance from Hunter Motley and Jack Franklin.
Later, Joey Melo secured the 3-0 victory with his first goal of the post-season, scoring on the power play at 11:46 of the third period. Travis Verbeek and Braeden Keeble picked up the assists.
At the end of the third period, the Canmore Eagles had outshot the Whitecourt Wolverines 13-11 but were unable to score a goal.
Eagles goaltender Matthew Malin made 30 saves on 33 shots, while Wolverines goaltender Lukas Renaud stopped all 36 shots on goal for the shutout.
With this win, the Whitecourt Wolverines took a 1-0 series lead.
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Game-two was played at JDA Place on Saturday, March 30, with the Canmore Eagles winning 4-3.
Spencer Rheaume scored the first goal of the game, unassisted at 3:34 in the first period to give the Wolverines an early lead. That was Rheaume’s third goal of the postseason.
At the end of the first period, the Whitecourt Wolverines had outshot the Canmore Eagles 9-5 and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
The second period started with a power play goal from Canmore’s Zach Coutu at 7:19 to tie the game 1-1. Coutu’s fifth goal of the post-season was assisted by Tyler Loughman and Brody Tallman.
Spencer Rheaume then scored his second goal of the game for Whitecourt on the powerplay at 9:44. Nathaniel Bannister and Jalen Bianchet assisted on Rheaume’s fourth goal of the postseason.
Later, Eagle’s left-winger Nathan Macpherson-Ridgewell tied the game 2-2 at 11:15 with his second goal of the post-season, assisted by Owen Jones.
Travis Verbeek then scored his third goal of the post-season, shorthanded at 13:06, with Joey Melo assisting on the play.
At the end of the second period, the Canmore Eagles had outshot the Whitecourt Wolverines 10-8 but were trailing 3-2.
The Canmore Eagles tied the game at 13:09 of the third period with a powerplay goal from Emanuel Hudson. Hudson’s third goal of the post-season was assisted by Tyler Loughman and Logan Ziegler.
Logan Ziegler then scored the game-winning goal for the Eagles at 19:41, for a final score of 4-3. Emanuel Hudson and Tyler Loughman picked up assists on Ziegler’s third goal of the postseason.
The Canmore Eagles outshot the Whitecourt Wolverines 13-7 in the third period.
Canmore Eagles goaltender Matthew Malin made 21 saves on 24 shots, while Whitecourt Wolverines goaltender Lukas Renaud made 24 saves on 28 shots.
With this win, the Canmore Eagles have tied the series at 1-1.
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Game-three will be played at the Canmore Recreation Centre on Tuesday, April 2, at 7:00 p.m.
You can catch all the action LIVE on XM105FM