Bonnyville, AB – The Whitecourt Wolverines (16-4-3) set a franchise record Sunday afternoon as they won their 10th straight games beating the Bonnyville Pontiacs (9-9-3) by a score of 5-2.
The Wolverines got off to a quick start in this game as just over four minutes into the opening frame, Jaedon Leslie stepped off the goal line and sifted a backhand shot between the legs of Pontiac netminder Sandro Silvestre. The rest of the period turned into a bit of a parade to the penalty box with five minor penalties being split between the two clubs.
The penalties continued into the second period and with the Wolverines on their fourth man-advantage of the afternoon Leslie spotted a pinching Noah Tooke on the back door and landed a perfect pass onto his tape that Tooke fired into the top shelf increasing the Wolverine’s lead to 2-0 5:44 into the period. The Pontiacs answered back just before the midway point as Riley Smith was left wide-open in front of the Wolverine net and he deposited a backhand shot of his own. Late in the period, the Wolverines were able to grab their two-goal lead back just prior to the intermission after a great defensive zone play by Brayden Labant sprung himself on a two-on-one rush where he elected to keep and shoot firing the puck far side past Silvestre.
The Wolverines would again stretch their lead early in a period and again it would come on the power play with Tyr Thompson being set up for a short-side shot at the side of the Pontiac net by Estian Coetzee 5:34 into the third period. The Pontiacs trimmed the lead back down to two as Derek Brown got a high-slot wrist shot through a maze of players in front of Wolverine goalie Tye Morin. The Pontiac response would not faze the Wolverines as with just under five minutes to play, Thompson put the game on ice with his second of the night tipping home a net-front pass from Ryley Smith.
The win breaks the team’s previous franchise record for consecutive wins that was set last season.
The Wolverines are back on home ice Tuesday night when they welcome the Sherwood Park Crusaders (9-12-1) to the Scott Safety Centre at 7:30 p.m.
Whitecourt Wolverines head coach Gord Thibodeau discusses his teams play:
Scoring Summary
1st Period:
WCT Goal – 4:03 – Jaedon Leslie(8) from Liam Motley and Spencer Bast (EV)
2nd Period:
WCT Goal – 5:44 – Noah Tooke(6) from Jaedon Leslie and Liam Motley (PP)
BP Goal – 9:42 – Riley Smith(3) from Charlie Gawlicki(EV)
WCT Goal – 17:27 – Brayden Labant(1) from Tanner Foster (EV)
3rd Period:
WCT Goal – 5:34 – Tyr Thompson(10) from Estian Coetzee and Ryley Smith (PP)
BP Goal – 7:55 – Derek Brown(12) from P.J. Marrocco and Kash Rasmussen (EV)
WCT Goal – 15:08 – Tyr Thompson(11) from Ryley Smith and Estian Coetzee (EV)
Shots – WCT 30 (12-12-6) BP 33 (10-11-12)
Power plays – WCT 2/5 BP 0/5
Goalies:
WCT – Tye Morin (4-1-0) 31sv/33sh
BP – Sandro Silvestre (8-6-4) 25sv/30sh
Three Star Selection:
1. WCT-Brayden Labant (GWG)
2. WCT-Tyr Thompson (2 goals)
3. WCT-Jaedon Leslie (1 goal, 1 assist)
Hardest Working Wolverine: Tye Morin (31 saves, win)
Recap presented by:
