Fort McMurray, AB – The Whitecourt Wolverines (33-20-7) wrapped up their regular season with a 6-3 loss to the Fort McMurray Oil Barons (42-13-5) on Saturday night.
The Wolverines started the game strong as they got goals from Ben Evanish and Estian Coetzee 23 seconds apart at the 13:25 and 13:48 of the first period. Evanish's goal came just as a Wolverine penalty had expired as he stepped into the left-wing circle and sizzled a wrist past the glove of Oil Baron goalie Chris Curr. Coetzee's goal came 9 seconds into a power play as he put home a backdoor pass from Jaedon Leslie. The Wolverines carried their 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
The Oil Barons halved the Wolverine's lead 5:47 into the second period as Peter Tomares deposited a rebound off a wraparound try by Jack Hamly. The Barons then took the lead coming out of the media timeout as Owen Reith and Shane Fraser scored goals less than a minute apart. The Wolverines appeared to tie the game late in the second period as Jake Hobson had a point shot redirected past Curr but the goal was waved off due to goaltender interference keeping the Barons in front heading into the third period.
The Oil Barons pulled away in the final frame as Merritt Oszytko scored twice in the opening half of the period and then Will Conley tacked on a shorthanded goal late. Spencer Bast would add a late power play goal for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines open the playoffs on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. as they host the Lloydminster Bobcats in game one of a North Division Quarterfinal Series.
Scoring Summary
1st Period:
WCT Goal – 13:25 – Ben Evanish(33) from Simon Lavoie and Stevie Bryant (EV)
WCT Goal – 13:48 – Estian Coetzee(21) from Jaedon Leslie and Liam Motley (PP)
2nd Period:
FM Goal – 5:47 – Peter Tomares(5) from Jarred White and Jack Hamly (EV)
FM Goal – 10:22 – Owen Reith(6) unassisted (EV)
FM Goal – 11:15 – Shane Fraser(21) from Merritt Oszytko and Will Conley (EV)
3rd Period:
FM Goal – 5:18 – Merritt Oszytko(23) from Shane Fraser (SH)
FM Goal – 9:28 – Merritt Oszytko(24) from Will Conley (EV)
FM Goal – 17:38 – Will Conley(48) from Jack Hamly and Curtis Roach (SH)
WCT Goal – 18:04 – Spencer Bast(20) from Jake Hobson and Stevie Bryant (PP)
Shots – WCT 29 (8-10-11) FM 35 (9-11-15)
Power plays – WCT 2/8 FM 0/4
Goalies:
WCT – Tye Morin (8-6-1) 29sv/35sh
FM – Chris Curr (16-5-2) 26sv/29sh
Three Star Selection:
1. FM-Shane Fraser
2. FM-Merritt Oszytko
3. FM-Will Conley
Hardest Working Wolverine: Estian Coetzee
Recap presented by:
