The Whitecourt Wolverines were back in action on Friday, Jan. 17 and Saturday, Jan. 18.
On Friday, the Wolverines defeated the Fort McMurray Oil Barons 5-4 in overtime, but the Calgary Canucks won Saturday’s game 2-1.
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Fort McMurray’s Cade Peterson scored his fifth goal of the season 11:19 into the first period to give the Oil Barons an early lead. Peterson’s goal was assisted by Griffin Gidney and Trennen Redlick.
At the end of the first period, however, the Whitecourt Wolverines had outshot the Fort McMurray Oil Barons 10-7 but the Oil Barons took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Dwayne Jean Jr. scored his 11th goal of the season just 1:08 into the second period to tie the game for the Wolverines. Jack Pollock and Matthew Gallant were credited with the assists on that goal.
Danny Akkouche re-gained the lead for the Oil Barons at 5:42. Akkouche’s 14th goal of the season was assisted by Ryan Arnold and Leo Adams.
Jalen Bianchet then scored his 14th goal of the season at 14:08, with Dylan Ruptash credited with the lone assist.
Danny Akkouche scored his second goal of the night at 14:57 to put the Oil Barons up 3-2. Akkouche’s 15th goal of the season was assisted by Leo Adams.
At the end of the second period, the Fort McMurray Oil Barons had outshot the Whitecourt Wolverines 10-6 and took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.
The Oil Barons extended their lead to 4-2 with a goal from Carter Schmidt at 13:22 of the third period. Schmidt’s 14th goal of the season was assisted by Mason Finley and Alexis Beaulac.
Stefan Serediak then scored his fifth goal of the season at 13:59, with Jalen Bianchet scoring his 15th goal of the season at 15:13 to tie the game 4-4 late in the third period.
Serediaks goal was assisted by Quentin Bourne and Braden Keeble. Bianchet’s goal was assisted by Dylan Ruptash and Kyle Tucker.
At the end of the third period, the Whitecourt Wolverines had outshot the Fort McMurray Oil Barons 15-7 and forced an overtime frame.
The Wolverines only needed 0:18 of overtime and one shot on net for Travis Verbeek to net the game-winning goal. Verbeek’s ninth goal of the season was assisted by Dwayne Jean. Jr. and Matthew Gallant.
The Whitecourt Wolverines outshot the Fort McMurray Oil Barons 32-24 in total.
Oil Barons goaltender Vincent Filion made 27 saves on the 32 shots he faced.
Wolverines’ goaltender Zac Onyskiw made 20 saves on the 24 shots he faced in support of the Wolverines 5-4 overtime victory.
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On Saturday, Jan. 18, the Whitecourt Wolverines played host to the Calgary Canucks for their third annual Superhero Night, Losing 2-1.
Despite outshooting the Canucks 10-7 in the first period, neither team was able to score a goal in the opening frame.
Riley Bracko scored the first goal of the game, 8:17 into the second period to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead. Bracko’s seventh goal of the season was assisted by Gavin Schmidt and Kenny Sutton.
Ty Rayan tied the game for the Wolverines at 12:01 with his fourth goal of the season. Noah Milford and Tyler Rowland were credited with the assists on what turned out to be the Wolverines only goal of the game.
Bowden Singleton then scored his 14th goal of the season at 13:23 to secure the 2-1 victory for the Canucks. Hayden Fechner and Rhett Melnyk were credited with the assists on what later proved to be the game-winning goal.
Both teams put 13 shots on net in the second period, but the Canucks held a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
The Calgary Canucks outshot the Whitecourt Wolverines 13-9 in the third period and 33-32 in total.
Wolverines’ goaltender Zac Onyskiw made 31 saves on the 33 shots he faced.
Canucks’ goaltender Lukas Renaud made 31 saves on the 32 shots he faced in support of the Canucks victory.
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Following these games, the Wolverines now have a record of 24-9-2-2, for a total of 52 points, placing them first in the NJHL North Division and second in the overall league standings, one point behind the Canmore Eagles.
The Whitecourt Wolverines are back in action on Friday, Jan. 24, as they head out to Canmore to face off against the Eagles.
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. and you can catch all the action live on XM105FM, home of the Whitecourt Wolverines.
