Two loses at home for the Whitecourt Wolverines

The Whitecourt Wolverines had a rough weekend at home following back to back loses at the Scott Safety Centre. Game one on Friday, December 13 against the Lloydminster Bobcats was a fast-paced game from start to finish. There weren’t very many whistles and the teams kept the puck alive bouncing from end to end for much of it.

The Bobcats opened the scoring first at 7:15 of the first period. That was the only goal of the first 20 minutes. In the second period, Cole Carrier, with assists from Ethan Green and Hayden Clayton, managed to get the Wolverines up on the board and tied things 1-1. That would sadly be the lone Whitecourt goal in the game.

The Bobcats answered back a couple of minutes later while on the powerplay and took back the one goal lead, 2-1. Four minutes after that, they scored again making it 3-1. The third period was quiet with no goals and only one penalty. The Bobcats took the game 3-1. The shots were 30-29 with the Whitecourt Wolverines upping the Bobcats by one. The crowd for Friday’s game was small with only 550 fans in attendance. Saturday’s matchup against the Brooks Bandits also had low attendance with seven fewer fans than the night before.

Things started off on the wrong foot for the Wolverines as they were dealt a four-minute double minor penalty call only 56 seconds into the opening frame. Over the next four minutes, Brooks managed to pocket two goals and take an early lead. Moments after their powerplay ended, they managed to score again making it 3-0 in the first two and a half minutes. At 7:17 of the period, Brooks scored again, jumping even further ahead. To make matters even worse, 34 seconds later they scored their fifth.

By the time the Wolverines were on the board with their first goal, they were staring down at a 6-1 score and a mountain to climb to get back into the game. Before the period ended, Brooks had scored a staggering seven goals and was in full control at 7-1. In the second period, the Wolverines capitalized on a powerplay opportunity as Adam Sandstrom notched one for his team. Unfortunately, that would be the final goal by the home team.

The Brooks Bandits scored once in the second and went on to score another three goals in the third period. Fans could hardly believe it when the final horn blew, and the score was 11-2. Not much can be done after a game like that except to just shake it off and focus forward on the next match up. For the Wolverines, the next game at home will be a very special one as it is the Ryder and Radek Memorial Game. Fans are invited to write messages on the ice prior to the game from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 21. The Wolverines will hit the ice at 7:30 p.m. to take on the Spruce Grove Saints. The team hopes to see the seats filled with fans for its final game before Christmas.