GAME RECAP:
The Fort McMurray Oil Barons continued their dominance of the AJHL with a 4-3 victory over the Wolverines Wednesday night, however it didn’t come easy for the Oil Barons as the battle came down to the final whistle.
Ryan Berlin opened the game scoring for Whitecourt as Colten Mayor threw the puck in front of the Oil Baron net and Berlin jammed it away for his 18th of the season. That would be the only goal of the period which saw a lot of back and forth action, with both teams collecting 7 shots a piece.
The second period was not as kind to the Wolverines as the Oil Barons struck first on the Power Play just :53 seconds in, on a Joel Herbert penalty which was carried over from the first period. The Oil Baron were not done there, as Alex Cromwell fired a puck from the corner that just trickled in to beat Riley Corbin, the Thunder Bay native was making his second straight start for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines would answer back at the 11 minute mark of the second frame as Jordan Davies fired a shot from the point that would hit not one but two Oil Baron sticks collecting his 6th of the season in his first game back from the Tri-City Americans of the WHL.
Ryan Bloom would score on the Power Play and Adam Wilcox in regulation within the last two minutes of the second period to give the Oil Barons a 4-2 lead heading into the intermission.
Captain Colten Mayor would show the Oil Barons the Wolverines were not going down without a fight putting his 21st in the back of the net on the Power Play 1:11 into the frame. It was all Wolverines from there as they outshot the “MOB” 11-4 in the final period but it just wasn’t enough to defeat the #1 team in the AJHL.
Wednesday Night Game Notes:
Scratches For Whitecourt: Kellan Cornelis &Tyson Helgesen
Close to a milestone: Ryan Berlin played in his 99th game with the Wolverines and 201st game in the AJHL.
Welcome Back: Jordan Davies returned from a brief stint with the Tri-City Americans. He was called up by the WHL club as Defenseman Michal Plutnar was over in Sweden representing the Czech Republic at the World Junior Hockey Championship, Davies collected 1G & 1A in 6 games.
Final Shots on Goal: 24-24
Whitecourt went 1/4 on the power play, while Fort McMurray went 2/4.
Three Stars:
1st – (WCT) Jordan Davies – (1G, 1A)
2nd – (WCT) Colten Mayor (1G, 1A)
3rd – (FTM) Alex Cromwell – (1G, 1A)
Attendance at the Scott Safety Center 762.
Next games for the Wolverines as they take to the road are Friday Jan. 10th at Camrose (7pm) & Saturday Jan.11 at Lloydminster (7:30pm) all the action can be seen on AJHL TV.
Devin Rideout
Director of Media Operations
