Historic milestone, Whitecourt Wolverines officially the Kings of the North

Franchise history has been made! The Whitecourt Wolverines wrapped up their hard-fought series against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons on Sunday, April 9 at the Scott Safety Centre. After winning game five in Fort McMurray on Friday, April 7 emotions were high as they came home for game six with skyscraper-high hopes that they could win the series in front of their Whitecourt fan base.

The Oil Barons struck first, sliding a puck past Diamond just over half way through the first period but three minutes later and a further two minutes after that, came two Wolverines goals pocketed by Coetzee and Grant.

In the second, it was only penalties on the board as the Barons went on the penalty kill three times. The final 20 minutes were absolutely awesome, much to the chagrin of the Baron fans who had travelled down for the match, as the Wolverines rallied four goals.

Fifty-five seconds into the frame, Messenger scored his 28th goal of the season, making it 3-1. Twenty-six seconds later, Jaedon Leslie (#26) made it 4-1. The Barons managed to score two more but couldn’t stop the fierce Wolverines from scoring, as the home team notched another pair before the end of the game, thanks to Young and Nardi. As the buzzer sounded, the Wolverines gathered at their net and jumped together in exuberant giddiness over their 6-3 win while their fans cheered deafeningly loud.

The Whitecourt Wolverines are officially Kings of the North, taking the AJHL North Division title for the first time in franchise history. There’s only one more step to total provincial domination! Fans, they need you now more than ever as they set their sights on the Brooks Bandits for an epic showdown which will crown the AJHL 2016/2017 champion. At print, games were projected to start in Brooks on April 14 and 15. To stay up to date on games, join the Whitecourt Wolverines Facebook page.