Drayton Valley, AB – The Whitecourt Wolverines (20-7-3) edged the Drayton Valley Thunder (6-24-0) 4-3 on Friday night in Drayton Valley.
The Wolverines fell behind early in the game as John Elliot opened the scoring for the Thunder just over a minute into the first period. The Wolverines answered back coming out of the media timeout as right off an offensive zone faceoff win by Stevie Bryant, the puck landed on Ben Evanish’s stick in the slot and he fired a shot far-side on Thunder goalie Rory Dumelie. The Thunder quickly regained their lead just over three minutes later following a power play, Vince Beaudry steered home a wraparound. The see-saw game continued with the Wolverines equalizing once again, this time scoring 1:39 after the Thunder pulled ahead as Liam Motley re-directed in a pass with his skate at the top of the Thunder crease on a Wolverine power play.
The Wolverines took their first lead of the game early in the second period by scoring their first shorthanded goal of the season, Tanner Foster blocked a point shot and then took the loose puck and fed a streaking Evanish at centre ice who made a beautiful move to his backhand on the breakaway. Later in the frame, the Wolverines increased their lead to 4-2 as Brayden Labant, working down low, found a wide-open Jaedon Leslie in front of the Thunder cage and he ripped a wrist shot past Dumelie.
The Thunder trimmed their deficit to just one goal just over six minutes into the third period as Trevor Ayre converted a nice passing play between himself and Beaudry on a rush into the Wolverines zone. The Thunder would press for an equalizer late, but Xavier Potvin would not allow another puck by him helping the Wolverines end a mini two-game losing skid.
The Wolverines return to the Scott Safety Centre tomorrow night as they host the Sherwood Park Crusaders (12-15-2) at 7:30 p.m.
Scoring Summary
1st Period:
DV Goal – 1:20 – John Elliott(7) from Ethan Browne (EV)
WCT Goal – 11:13 – Ben Evanish(13) from Stevie Bryant and Brayden Labant (EV)
DV Goal – 14:21 – Vince Beaudry(8) from Levi Johnson and Trevor Ayre (EV)
WCT Goal – 16:00 – Liam Motley(11) from Jaedon Leslie and Tyr Thompson (PP)
2nd Period:
WCT Goal – 2:41 – Ben Evanish(14) from Tanner Foster (SH)
WCT Goal – 14:43 – Jaedon Leslie(9) from Brayden Labant
3rd Period:
DV Goal – 6:18 – Trevor Ayre(8) from Vince Beaudry and Steve Senese (EV)
Shots – WCT 42 (14-12-16) DV 34 (16-8-10)
Power plays – WCT 1/2 DV 0/5
Goalies:
WCT – Xavier Potvin (15-5-3) 31sv/34sh
DV – Rory Dumelie (1-7-0) 38sv/42sh
Three Star Selection:
1. WCT-Jaedon Leslie (GWG, 1 assist)
2. WCT-Ben Evanish (2 goals)
3. DV-Vince Beaudry (1 goal, 1 assist)
Hardest Working Wolverine: Liam Motley (1 goal).
Recap presented by:
