The Whitecourt Wolverines had back-to-back away games against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons over the weekend.
On Friday, they trounced the Oil Barons 5-2, but a hard-won victory saw the Oil Barons bounce back on Saturday to edge the Wolverines 6-5.
Friday night, Jalen Bianchet opened the scoring for the Wolverines at 12:39, with assistance from Kyle Tucker and Spencer Claerhout.
Whitecourt’s Ethan Short followed that lead up about four minutes later, with Bianchet on the assist this time, finishing the frame with a 2-0 lead.
Tensions were high in the second frame, with players from both teams earning fighting, game misconduct and roughing penalties at multiple points.
Despite the tension, Ethan Short carried his momentum from the first frame into period two, scoring again at 13:09. He was assisted by Jager Gugyelka in bringing the score to 3-0.
Less than three minutes later, the Oil Barons netted one to bring the score to 3-1. But Wolverine Jalen Bianchet fired back one minute later, scoring his 18th goal of the season. He was assisted by Chayse King and Kyle Tucker.
Heading into the third with a three-point safety net, Fort McMurray narrowed that lead with a goal at 11:23.
The final 5-2 score was secured two minutes later by Whitecourt’s Quentin Bourne. The helpers went to Mason Russell and Spencer Claerhout.
With a thorn in their side, the Oil Barons started Saturday’s action with a powerplay goal. Then at 12:43 and 13:34, two Fort McMurray players were sent to the box, flipping the advantage to Whitecourt. With support from Quentin Bourne and Ty Rayan, Whitecourt’s Jalen Bianchet was able to capitalize and tie the score 1-1.
Period two saw most of the scoring action, which started at 2:22 with a goal by Wolverine Chayse King, with assistance from Bianchet.
The Wolverines 2-1 lead was short-lived, however, as Justus Chyld took two minors at 5:59, sending Fort McMurray to the powerplay again. Ryan Arnold scored for the Oil Barons at 6:38, setting off a three-goal hot streak for the team.
It wasn’t until 13:20 that the Wolverines could start chipping away at the 4-2 lead, when Bianchet netted another powerplay goal. Kyle Tucker and Brendan Ruskowski got the helpers.
In the last 1:07 of the frame, Fort McMurray managed to light the lamp two more times to finish the period with a 6-3 lead.
The Wolverines pushed in period three, with Tristan Slywka scoring just 0:17 seconds in to make it 6-4, with assistance from Quentin Bourne and Ty Rayan.
Another goal at 6:13 brought the Wolverines within a one-point gap, but they were ultimately unable to tie it up and send things into overtime. The final goal, bringing it to 6-5 in the Oil Barons favour, was scored by Jalen Bianchet. He was assisted by Alex Symes and Wyatt Ball.
The Whitecourt Wolverine still lead the AJHL North Division at 12-4-0-0, while the Fort McMurray Oil Barons’ record sits at 7-4-2-0.
