The Whitecourt Wolverines started the pre-season off strong, taking the Drayton Valley Thunder 4-1 in their first match up Friday night and following it up on Saturday with a 5-3 win against the Camrose Kodiaks.
On Friday, Wolverine Ethan Short, assisted by Cole Barrett, started the action off 8:50 into the first period to bring the teams to 1-0.
The second frame saw the Thunder’s Brett Woodard and Whitecourt’s Braydon Franks each take majors for fighting and game misconducts at 7:48.
A minor penalty to Drayton Valley just a few minutes later gave the Wolverines a chance at the power play, which Ty Rayan capitalized on to secure an insurance goal, with helpers from Barrett and Short to make it 2-0.
Then, just 3:04 into frame three, Cale Chimera scored for Drayton, bringing it to 2-1. He was assisted by Kingston Sauter and Damian Hill.
Whitecourt hammered back just two minutes later though and then again with just 53 seconds left in the period, to bring the score to 4-1. Ulysses Lombardi and Ethan Short scored Whitecourt’s last two goals unassisted.
Then on Saturday, Camrose got it to the net first, with Ryland Molde scoring just 1:36 into the game. Adrien Fox and Tavish Beagle got the helpers.
An interference minor for Kodiak Bode Edwards saw Wolverine Kyle Tucker, assisted by Jalen Bianchet and Alex Symes, tie things up 1-1 on the power play.
Frame two saw the most action of the night, with Whitecourt’s Stefan Serediak securing back-to-back goals at 2:17 and 2:25 for a 3-1 lead. AJ Tarnowski assisted both, and Ryan Sellers aided in the second.
Following some minor penalties to each team, Miles Copeland fired back for the Kodiaks at 9:04, with the helper going to Kaden Hughes, making it 3-2 Whitecourt.
The Wolverines didn’t let up, gaining ground again at 18:37 when Christian Revel, assisted by Nolan Cardinal and Symes, brought the team back to a two goal lead at 4-2.
But it was a brief recovery, as Camrose’s Evan Carver narrowed the lead again, to 4-3, with just 1:03 left in the period.
Tucker boosted Whitecourt up to 5-2 at 8:20 into the third. He was assisted by Bianchet, his second of the night, and Mason Russell.
The Wolverines next face off on home ice at JDA Place against the Drayton Valley Thunder. It’s a 7 p.m. puck drop on Thursday, Sept. 11.
