The Whitecourt Wovlerines are moving on to round 2 of the 2017 AJHL Gas Drive Play Offs, also known as the North Divison Semi Finals. Whitecourt met Grande Prairie in the first round sweeping the Storm but not without some hard word after Xavier Burghardt took over as the Storm's netminder in the series. Burghardt came in as relief in the first game of the series after the Wolverines had scored thier fifth goal on Weersink.
Burghardt was strong in his relief efforts and the Wolverines were only able to sneak one past him, stll winning the game 6-0 and giving Pierce Diamond the shut out. The next night, the Storm elected to start Berghardt and that would prove to be the right move as Burghardt was peppered with 63 shots and brought the game to overtime. Overtime would prove too much for the Storm netminder and after strong play by the Wolverines, Justin Young was able to find the back of the net and take home a win in game 2.
Game 3 would see the Storm get the first goal and another strong effort from netminder Burghardt but the Wolverines would prove to be too much to handle and Whitecourt was able to walk away with a 6-1 and series clinching win.
The Wolverines will now gear up to face the Spruce Grove Saints whom they went 3-2-1 with during regular season play. The first two games of the round will be played at home, where the Wolverines went 3-0-0 in the regular season against the Saints. The Wolverines hope to continue their winning ways at home and start round 2 on a positive note on Friday, March 17th.
You can watch the play off action from the stands at the Scott Safety Centre on March 17th and March 18th. The puck will drop at 7:30 for both games. Don't miss our March 17th game as not only will the team give you a great show, The Overtime Grill is bringing St. Patricks Day to the rink with green beer and the $3 for 3 minute draft beer sale! Everytime the Wolverines score, Draft beer will go on sale for $3 for the next 3 minutes.
The full schedule for the second round is as follows:
March 17 & 18 in Whitecourt @ 7:30
March 20 & 21 in Spruce Grove @ 7:00
March 24 in Whitecourt @ 7:30 (if necessary)
March 26 in Spruce Grove @ 7:00 (if necessary)
March 28 in Whitecourt @ 7:30 (if necessary)
Tickets are available to purchase online by clicking here.
Tickets are also available on gamedays at the door.
