The Whitecourt Wolverines took a trip to Bonnyville on Tuesday, Dec. 17, looking for their fifth win-in-a-row, however, the Pontiacs won 4-3 to end that streak.
The Pontiacs jumped out to an early lead thanks to a goal from Slade Firkus, just 6:19 into the first period. Firkus’ fifth goal of the season was assisted by Maxim Shushkov and Dayton Reschny.
The Wolverines responded quickly with a goal from Jalen Bianchet at 6:42. Joey Vetrano picked up the lone assist on Bianchet’s 10th goal of the season.
The Pontiacs then re-took the lead at 9:10 thanks to Christophe Lussier’s seventh goal of the season. Mathieu Lajoie was credited with the assist on that goal.
At the end of the first period, both teams put eight shots on net, but the Pontiacs took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
Whitecourt’s Jack Pollock scored his first goal of the season at 11:54 of the second period with assists from Kyle Tucker and Ewan McPherson.
Pontiacs’ winger Dayton Reschny then scored his sixth goal of the season on a power play at 13:44, with Slade Firkus picking up the assist.
At the end of the second period, the Bonnyville Pontiacs outshot the Whitecourt Wolverines 13-12 and took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.
In the final frame, Porter Byrd-Leitner scored another power play goal for the Pontiacs at 10:43 of the third period. Byrd-Leitner’s fifth goal of the season was assisted by Dayton Reshcny.
Whitecourt’s Braden Keeble then scored his seventh goal of the season at 10:50 with an assist from Jack Pollock, however, the Wolverines ran out of time before they could score another goal to tie the game.
The Whitecourt Wolverines outshot the Bonnyville Pontiacs 14-4 in the third period and 34-25 in total, however, the Pontiacs walked away with the 4-3 victory.
Whitecourt Wolverines’ goaltender Elliott Pratt made 21 saves on the 25 shots he faced.
Bonnyville Pontiacs’ goaltender Cody Butikis made 31 saves on the 34 shots he faced in support of the Pontiacs’ victory.
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Following this loss, the Wolverines now have a record of 20-7-1-1, for a total of 42 points, placing them first in the AJHL North Division and overall league standings.
The Wolverines are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 18, as they wrap up their last road trip of 2024 in Lloydminster against the Bobcats.
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. and you can catch all the action live on XM105FM, home of the Whitecourt Wolverines.
