The Whitecourt Wolverines’ seven-game win streak came to a halt on Sunday.
The Wolverines hosted the Fort McMurray Oil Barons for back-to-back games on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25.
Saturday, they edged the Oil Barons 4-3.
Jalen Bianchet opened the scoring for Whitecourt with a powerplay goal at 2:11, with assistance from Brendan Ruskowski and Kyle Tucker.
Tucker then scored a powerplay goal of his own about four minutes later, after Oil Baron Benjamin Morton went to the box for interference. Tyler Pretty and Quentin Bourne helped him secure the 2-0 lead.
At 15:13, Wolverine Cole Barrett earned a double minor for high sticking, giving Fort McMurray a shot at a powerplay goal with 1:02 left in the frame.
With a 2-1 lead, Tristan Slywka netted an insurance goal for the Wolverines at 8:07 in period two. Mason Russell and Jager Gugyelka assisted.
Brendan Ruskowski bumped Whitecourt to a 4-1 lead less than two minutes later, with support from Cole Barrett and Xander Schulte.
Fort McMurray answered about five minutes later, however, finishing the frame 4-2 in Whitecourt’s favour. The Oil Barons scored once more in period three, losing 4-3 to the Wolverines.
Sunday, Fort McMurray hit back with a 5-2 victory.
Jalen Bianchet scored the Wolverines’ two points with 56 seconds left in period one, then at 1:10 in the second frame. Kyle Tucker and Billy Hooson assisted with the first goal, while Tucker and Jager Gugyelka got the helpers for the second.
Their win streak may have been halted, but the Whitecourt Wolverines still lead the AJHL North Division with a record of 28-10-0-1, four points ahead of the second-place Grande Prairie Storm.
