The Whitecourt Wolverines kicked off 2025 with games against the Camrose Kodiaks on Friday, Jan. 3 and the Lloydminster Bobcats on Saturday, Jan. 4.
The Wolverines lost Friday’s game 4-3 in overtime and lost Saturday’s game 3-2.
Adrien Fox scored the first goal of the game on Friday, just 5:25 into the first period, giving the Kodiaks an early 1-0 lead. Fox’s first goal of the season was assisted by Cole Barrett and Keegan Beagle.
Dylan Ruptash scored a power play goal for the Wolverines at 14:45 with assists from Travis Verbeek and Jalen Bianchet. That was Ruptash’s 18th goal of the season.
At the end of the first period, the Camrose Kodiaks had outshot the Whitecourt Wolverines 15-11 but the game was tied 1-1 heading into the first intermission.
The Kodiaks Cole Barrett then scored his second goal of the season on a power play at 6:47 of the second period. AJ Schaaf and Will Jamieson were credited with the assists.
Whitecourt’s Braden Keeble scored a power play goal at 18:28 with assists from Jalen Bianchet and Dylan Ruptash. That was Keeble’s 10th goal of the season.
At the end of the second period, the Whitecourt Wolverines had outshot the Camrose Kodiaks 12-7 but the score was tied 2-2 heading into the second intermission.
Kyle Tucker scored his seventh goal of the season just 1:25 into the third period to give the Wolverines their first lead of the game, 3-2. Jalen Bianchet and Joey Vetrano picked up the assists on the goal.
Sam Lozinski re-tied the game for the Kodiaks at 2:16, however, with his 16th goal of the season. Nicholas Larkin and Bowen Grycan were credited with the assists.
At the end of the third period, the Camrose Kodiaks had outshot the Whitecourt Wolverines 12-5 but neither team was able to break the tie before regulation time ran out.
It only took Cole Barrett 2:28 to score his third goal of the season to secure the win for the Camrose Kodiaks. Bowen Grycan and Dylan Bidyk assisted on the game-winning goal.
The Camrose Kodiaks outshot the Drayton Valley Thunder 3-0 in overtime and 37-28 in total.
Whitecourt Wolverines goaltender Elliot Pratt made 33 saves on the 37 shots he faced.
Camrose Kodiaks goaltender Carter Capton made 25 saves on the 28 shots he faced in support of the Kodiaks 4-3 victory.
—
The Wolverines continued their weekend road trip in Lloydminster on Saturday, Jan. 4 to face off against the Bobcats, losing 3-2.
Whitecourt’s Jalen Bianchet scored the first goal of the game just 1:23 into the first period. Bianchet’s 12th goal of the season was assisted by Joey Vetrano and Reid Larson.
At the end of the first period, both teams had put 13 shots on net, however, the Wolverines took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Lloydminster’s Gus El-Tahhan then scored his 12th goal of the season just 0:35 into the second period to tie the game 1-1. Cooper Moore and Luke Fritz picked up the assists.
The Bobcats Caden Steinke scored his second goal of the season at the 1:00 mark to give the Bobcats their first lead of the game. Wyatt Yule and Jamie Weller assisted on the play.
Wyatt Yule then put the Bobcats up 3-1 at 8:27 with his third goal of the season. What turned out to be the game-winning goal was assisted by Caden Steinke and Lucas Magowan.
Whitecourt’s Braden Keeble scored the final goal of the game at 16:37 of the second period. Keeble’s 11th goal of the season was scored on the power play, with assists from Jalen Bianchet and Stefan Serediak.
At the end of the second period, the Lloydminster Bobcats had outshot the Whitecourt Wolverines 12-5 and took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.
Them despite outshooting the Bobcats 20-8 in the third period and 38-33 in total, the Wolverines were unable to score a goal, leading to a 3-2 victory for the Lloydminster Bobcats.
Whitecourt Wolverines goaltender Zac Onyskiw made 30 saves on the 33 shots he faced.
Lloydminster Bobcats goaltender Kaiden Kirkwood made 36 saves on the 38 shots he faced.
—
Following these losses, the Whitecourt Wolverines now have a record of 22-8-2-1, for a total of 47 points, putting them first in the AJHL North Division and a three-way tie for first place with the Canmore Eagles and Calgary Canucks.
The Wolverines are back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 8, as they play host to the Devon Extreme. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. and you can catch all the action live on XM105FM.
