Huge start to the season for the Whitecourt Wolverines

By Serena Lapointe

Since the season started on Friday, September 19, the Whitecourt Wolverines have held onto
an exceptional streak, winning six of their last seven games up to Wednesday’s blowout win
against the Bonnyville Pontiacs at JDA Place. The team is fresh with new faces and led by
veteran players who have their sights set on being the leaders of the pack.
Their first game, on September 19, against the Grande Prairie Storm, had nearly two thousand
fans in attendance at the Bonnetts Energy Centre in GP. The Wolverines struck first with two
goals, Kyle Tucker (#16) and Short, and both were assisted by Tyler Pretty (#9) and Jalen
Bianchet (#18). The Wolverines managed to tally five more goals in the game, including two
more off the stick of Captain Bianchet and two from Mason Russell (#21), taking the win 7-4.
The next night, the Wolverines welcomed the Pontiacs to Whitecourt. The Storm would no doubt
be after some retribution following their big loss in front of their fans and were likely hoping to
give the Wolverines the same treatment. Although the game was much tighter than the night
before, it did not work out in favour of the visiting team.
Over the three periods, each team scored two goals. Goal scorers for the Wolverines were
Justus Chyld (#4) and Jalen Bianchet (#18. When the third period buzzer sounded, the teams
were tied with two apiece. Overtime didn’t crown a champ, resulting in a shootout. The only
player to score was Quentin Bourne (#8), giving the Wolverines a 3-2 win.
On September 27, the Wolverines were back at home, this time taking on the Fort McMurray Oil
Barons. As with the game on the 19th, Kyle Tucker (#16) kick-started the scoring, potting one in
just before the ten-minute mark of the first period, assisted by Tyler Pretty (#9) and Alex Symes
(#12). Tucker started the second period in the same way, this time assisted by Bianchet and
Pretty. By the end of the third period, the Wolverines had amassed six goals on the scoreboard,
taking the win 6-2.
The next afternoon, the action moved to Devon, where the Wolverines took on the Xtreme. The
first period was anything but extreme, with only one goal to speak of and no penalties. Devon
was on the board and in the lead, but would they keep it? The short answer is no. In the second
period, Tucker, doing what he does best, tied the game 1-1, followed by a power-play goal from
Spencer Claerhout (#6) to make it 2-1. In the third, Bianchet nabbed a pair of goals to bring the
final score to 4-1 for Whitecourt.
On Friday, October 3, the Whitecourt Wolverines hit the highway for a game in Camrose against
the Kodiaks. Two Wolverine goals in the first period, Bianchet and Russell, got things started on
the right foot. In the second, Cole Barrett (#26) nabbed a third for the Wolverines before the
Kodiaks were able to score their first. Even though the Kodiaks managed to score four more
goals between the second and third periods, it wasn’t near enough to overtake the Wolverines’
eight goals, including a pair for both Russell and Bianchet. Whitecourt took the win 8-5. Have
you been keeping score? That’s five wins in a row to kick off the season!

On Saturday, October 4, the Wolverines welcomed the Canmore Eagles to JDA Place. The
southern nemesis was looking to stop the winning streak and leave Whitecourt with a win in
their pocket. After a scoreless first period, Whitecourt’s Brendan Ruskowski (#11) got the home
team on the scoreboard in the second. Aside from a few penalties, including one against
Canmore for illegal equipment, the period was relatively quiet.
In the third, Canmore opened up, scoring four goals in a row, silencing the Whitecourt crowd.
Ruskowski managed to pocket his second of the night and third on the season, but it wasn’t
enough to get back to even. The Whitecourt Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season, 4-
2.
And that brings us to one of the most recent games played last week on Wednesday, October 8,
at JDA Place, where the Wolverines took on the Bonnyville Pontiacs. Even though the Pontiacs
weren’t the ones who ended the Wolverines’ streak, they were about to feel all the pain as if
they had.
The Wolverines scored twice in the first, three times in the second and twice in the third, racking
seven goals and letting in none. Try as they might, even with 30 shots on net, the Pontiacs
could not break through Whitecourt goaltender Elliot Pratt’s (#32) ironclad grip, rendering the
net impenetrable, and were shut out 7-0.
Captain Jalen Bianchet nabbed two in the win and, as of October 8, has ten goals on the
season. He also reached a big milestone, his 100th point. Congratulations, Jalen. Let’s Go,
Wolverines!
TAGLINE:
The Whitecourt Wolverines have had an exceptional start to the season, and the fans love it.
Attendance at the first four home games reached over 600, with the first two nearly hitting 700
fans each.