Fans erupt with emotion in defence of their Wolverines during a heated game against the Crusaders

One of the last home games of the year for the Whitecourt Wolverines took place on Friday against the Sherwood Park Crusaders and was wrought with controversy. In the first three minutes of the game, Wolverines’ goalie Ben Charette was injured in a rush resulting in Wolverine affiliate goalie Vaughn Kaliel jumping into the crease for nearly the entire game. Talk about going from the frying pan into the fire!

Nine minutes into the first, the Crusaders got on the board with a goal from Evan Arnold, assisted by Brock Souch and Luke Monroe. A little over two minutes later, the same lineup scored again, but this one brought the hometown fans to their feet. Loud as loud can be, fans screamed offside. The timekeeper could be seen jumping in disapproval, and fans sitting near the blue line pointed feverishly, trying to get the ref’s attention to the offside that had not been called. There was even a discussion between the linesmen and the ref, but they allowed the goal to stand in the end.

Throw in a few “missed” referee calls against the Wolverines’ and fans were just about as mad as the players on the ice, which raised the heat. Checks got bigger and harder, and little crosschecks started happening between the players. It was clear early on that the game was going to get crazy.

In the second period, the Whitecourt Wolverines fought back. At 3:55 of the period, Michael Lovsin scored his sixth of the season, with assists from Jonah Bevington and Dylan Leslie. A little over ten minutes later, Tanner Komzak scored the tying goal, getting his team back into it. Caleb MacDonald got his 30th assist on the goal, with Colby Browne nabbing his twelfth. Shortly afterwards, the Sherwood Park Crusaders took back the lead, much to the chagrin of the hometown fans.

Until the third period, there had only been five penalties in the game, but that changed in the final frame as both teams got feisty. There were nine penalties in the third period, with the Sherwood Park Crusaders landing in the penalty box five times.

Tanner Komzak was the recipient of the first two-minute sit. His charging penalty, one minute and seventeen seconds into the third, resulted in the Crusaders furthering their lead, scoring to make it 4-2. Seven minutes later, the Crusaders scored again, making it 5-2 and taking the wind out of the sails of Wolverines fans.

Things started getting extra spicy around the mid-way point of the period. Wolverine Matthew Sutter laid a massive hit on a Crusader that had the hometown fans cringing, expecting a major penalty. Though he only ended up with a two-minute roughing penalty, some fans could be heard saying they wouldn’t be surprised if Sutter ended up with a suspension. Time will tell on that.

The Wolverines found themselves on the powerplay at the thirteen-minute mark and took full advantage. Michael Lovsin potted in his second of the game. Caleb MacDonald nabbed his 31st assist of the year on the play. Jonah Bevington also assisted.

At 19:05, with less than a minute to play, the Crusaders scored one final goal, raising their lead to 6-3. Even though they were staring down a huge deficit, the Whitecourt Wolverines didn’t give up. Eleven seconds after the Crusader’s goal, Wolverine Jarred Feist scored an unassisted powerplay marker. The final score at the Scott Safety Centre was 6-4 for the Crusaders.

The final home game of 2022 for the Whitecourt Wolverines will be on December 29 against the Drayton Valley Thunder at 7 pm.