Whitecourt, AB – The Whitecourt Wolverines (22-9-5) lost a tight-checking 2-1 decision to the Lloydminster Bobcats (13-22-2) on Friday night.
The Bobcats opened the scoring on a power play with 6:21 remaining in the opening frame as Zach Kaiser re-directed home a Daniel Hilsendager blast from the blue line. The Wolverines entered the first intermission trailing despite holding a 13-8 edge in shots on goal.
The Wolverines pressed throughout the middle frame to get the game tied and after their power play came up empty on three chances, Ben Evanish would level the game on a great individual effort as he chased down a loose puck in the offensive zone and tucked in a wraparound past Bobcat’s goalie Nick Sanders with under five minutes to play in the period.
The Bobcats would restore their lead midway through the third period as Cole Johnson snapped home what would go on to be the game-winning goal from the high-slot off an offensive zone faceoff win. The Wolverines bid for a buzzer-beating tying goal was snuffed out after taking a too many men on the ice penalty with under a minute to play.
The Wolverines and Bobcats do battle again Saturday night in Lloydminster at 7:30 p.m.
Scoring Summary
1st Period:
LLYD Goal – 13:39 – Zach Kaiser(14) from Daniel Hilsendager and Cole Johnson (PP)
2nd Period:
WCT Goal – 15:51 – Ben Evanish(19) from Jake Hobson (EV)
3rd Period:
LLYD Goal – 10:26 – Cole Johnson(9) from Zac Ziegler and Braydon Jenkins (EV)
Shots – WCT 40 (13-13-14) LLYD 25 (8-6-11)
Power plays – WCT 0/6 LLYD 1/3
Goalies:
WCT – Xavier Potvin (17-7-4) 23sv/25sh
LLYD – Nick Sanders (5-5-2) 39sv/40sh
Three Star Selection:
1.LLYD-Nick Sanders
2.LLYD-Cole Johnson
3. WCT-Xavier Potvin
Hardest Working Wolverine: Spencer Bast.
Recap presented by: