Whitecourt, AB – The Whitecourt Wolverines (21-7-3) picked up their second straight win on Saturday night with a convincing 4-1 win over the Sherwood Park Crusaders (12-16-2).
The game had to wait until the closing moments of the first period for the opening goal but it would be the Wolverines finding the back of the net as Spencer Bast set Stevie Bryant up in the slot for his seventh goal of the season. The Wolverines penalty kill was busy in the opening 20 minutes as they killed off three Crusader power plays.
Eight minutes into the second period, Mackenzie Harden increased the Wolverines lead to 2-0 as he picked off a pass in behind the Crusader’s net and stepped in front firing a shot far-side past the blocker of Crusader goalie Brandon Vogel. That would be the only blemish for Vogel in the period as he stood tall kicking aside 20 of the 21 Wolverine shots in the frame.
Just over three minutes into the third period, the Crusaders trimmed their deficit to just one goal as Garrett Clegg found the back of the net on a bullet from the right-wing circle. The Wolverines would pull away in final half of the third period starting with a goal from local product Spencer Augot on a blueline blast for his first career AJHL goal. With under five minutes to play, Noah Tooke capped the scoring on the night with a dazzling rush into the offensive zone, snapping a wrist shot over the glove of Vogel.
The win was the ninth straight for the Wolverines against the Crusaders dating back to last season.
The Wolverines return to action Friday night when they welcome the Grande Prairie Storm (15-11-3) to the Scott Safety Centre at 7:30 p.m.
Scoring Summary
1st Period:
WCT Goal – 19:09 – Stevie Bryant(7) from Spencer Bast and Estian Coetzee (EV)
2nd Period:
WCT Goal – 8:22 – Mackenzie Harden(2) from Spencer Bast and Estian Coetzee (EV)
3rd Period:
SP Goal – 3:06 – Garrett Clegg(12) from Erik Miller (EV)
WCT Goal – 11:25 – Spencer Augot(1) from Matthew Monk and Ryan Wallz (EV)
WCT Goal – 15:42 – Noah Tooke(7) unassisted (PP)
Shots – WCT 42 (10-21-11) SP 20 (5-6-9)
Power plays – WCT 1/5 SP 0/5
Goalies:
WCT – Xavier Potvin (16-5-3) 19sv/20sh
SP – Brandon Vogel (9-10-0) 38sv/40sh
Three Star Selection:
1. WCT-Mackenzie Harden (GWG)
2. WCT-Spencer Augot (1 goal)
3. WCT-Noah Tooke (1 goal)
Hardest Working Wolverine: Spencer Bast and Estian Coetzee (2 assists)
Recap presented by:
