Whitecourt, AB – The Whitecourt Wolverines (19-5-3) recorded their second straight shutout win on Friday night, this time beating the Canmore Eagles (11-14-1) 2-0 in Canmore.
The Wolverines opened the scoring 6:28 into the first period as on a power play, Spencer Bast had a backdoor feed for Jaedon Leslie tipped away but it landed on Mackenzie Harden’s stick in the right-wing circle and he promptly fired a wrist shot top-shelf for his first goal as a Wolverine. The Wolverines appeared to increase their lead a short time later on another power play when Stevie Bryant stepped off the goal line and tucked a puck past Eagle’s goalie Thomas Davis but it was immediately waved off as the net in behind Davis became dislodged.
A chaotic second period began with Wolverine forward Ryley Smith taking, what appeared to be, a high hit just inside his own blue line that knocked him out for the remainder of the game. Wolverine head coach Gord Thibodeau would be ejected from the game at that time as well after a heated discussion with the official. Once things settled down, the Wolverines had several high-quality scoring chances but could not beat Davis for a second time, while also hitting the post twice.
A fast-paced third period saw both teams have their chances to make a dent on the scoreboard but neither goalie would budge. In the late stages of the game, the Eagles had their best chance to tie it up with Colton Young getting in behind the defence, with what appeared to be a down and out Xavier Potvin, Young fired on net but with the paddle of his goal stick, Potvin made his finest save of the game. Following the dazzling save, Hayden Clayton put the game away with his first career AJHL goal as he sped in on a one-on-one rush and used the defender as a screen firing the puck far-side past Davis from the right-wing circle.
The Wolverines are right back in action tomorrow night as they pay a visit to the Calgary Canucks (12-14-1) at the Ken Bracko Arena at 5 p.m.
Scoring Summary
1st Period:
WCT Goal – 6:28 – Mackenzie Harden(1) from Spencer Bast and Noah Tooke (PP)
2nd Period:
No Scoring
3rd Period:
WCT Goal – 16:43 – Hayden Clayton(1) from Brayden Labant and Spencer Bast (EV)
Shots – WCT 25 (7-11-7) CAN 30 (4-19-7)
Power plays – WCT 1/5 CAN 0/7
Goalies:
WCT – Xavier Potvin (14-4-3) 30sv/30sh
CAN – Thomas Davis (8-12-0) 23sv/25sh
Three Star Selection:
1. WCT-Xavier Potvin (30 save shutout)
2. WCT-Mackenzie Harden (GWG)
3. CAN-Thomas Davis (23 saves)
Hardest Working Wolverine: Hayden Clayton (1 goal).
Recap presented by:
