Sherwood Park, AB – The Whitecourt Wolverines (4-1-1) capped a successful three-game weekend road trip with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win in Sherwood Park on Sunday afternoon against the Crusaders (2-1-1).
The Crusaders jumped on a road-weary Wolverines team scoring just over a minute into the contest as team captain Brendan Kallis blasted home a point shot. The Wolverines got their legs back under them late in the period, eventually outshooting the Crusaders 9-6 in the opening frame but still trailing 1-0 as the teams headed into the intermission.
The scoring picked back up just past the midway point of the second period as the Crusaders increased their lead to two after Merritt Oszytko capitalized on a rebound generated by a Dylan Stewart shot. The Wolverines had a quick answer as just 2:48 later Jaedon Leslie tapped in a cross-crease pass from Liam Motley. The one goal deficit for the team wouldn’t remain long as again the Crusaders went up by two on a great individual effort from Stewart as he peeled the puck off the side boards and walked into the right-wing circle and snapped a shot passed Wolverine goalie Xavier Potvin. Before the period was out, the Wolverines would again be able to trim the Crusaders lead to one as Marc-Antoine Benoit stepped in on a two-on-one rush and elected to keep and shoot, firing the puck into the top corner.
Just 35 seconds into the final stanza the Wolverines would get the game tied when Liam Motley wired in a wrist shot from the left-wing circle. The game remained tied through the remainder of regulation as the Wolverines continued to build momentum heading into the overtime period.
In overtime, the Wolverines controlled the puck for the majority and with under two minutes left in the bonus period, Ben Evanish steered home the game-winning goal on a wraparound to give the Wolverines a four-game winning streak.
The Wolverines return to home ice on Tuesday night as they welcome the Bonnyville Pontiacs to the Scott Safety Centre for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.
Whitecourt Wolverines head coach Gord Thibodeau discusses his team’s six-point weekend:
Notes: This was the first time since January 2013 that the Wolverines have won all three games during a Fri-Sun road trip…This was just the second time the Wolverines and Crusaders have ever gone to OT in 31 meetings, the Wolverines won the previous time in December 2015 on a goal from Eric Krienke…The Wolverines have now won four straight games against the Crusaders dating back to last season…D Jesse Pomeroy met his new teammates for the first time two hours before puck drop today and then played alongside them after being pressed into duty due to injuries…Wolverines head coach Gord Thibodeau says F Stevie Bryant is likely out 7-10 days with an upper-body injury, while D Spencer Augot is day-to-day.
Scoring Summary
1st Period:
SP Goal – 1:43 – Brendan Kallis(1) from William Zapernick and Jonny Sheardown (EV)
2nd Period:
SP Goal – 12:08 – Merritt Oszytko(2) from Dylan Stewart and William Zapernick (EV)
WCT Goal – 14:56 – Jaedon Leslie(2) from Liam Motley and Tyr Thompson (EV)
SP Goal – 17:02 – Dylan Stewart(2) unassisted (EV)
WCT Goal – 18:27 – Marc-Antoine Benoit(2) from Ben Evanish and Ryan Grant (EV)
3rd Period:
WCT Goal – 0:35 – Liam Motley(3) from Jaedon Leslie and Tyr Thompson (EV)
Overtime:
WCT Goal – 3:06 – Ben Evanish(3) from Jaedon Leslie and Noah Tooke (EV)
Shots – WCT 38 (9-11-13-5) SP 19 (6-7-6)
Power plays – WCT 0/3 SP 0/2
Goalies:
WCT – Xavier Potvin 16sv/19sh (3-1-1)
SP – Sam Burford 34sv/38sh (0-2-0)
Three Star Selection:
1. WCT-Ben Evanish (GWG, 1a)
2. WCT-Jaedon Leslie (1g, 2a)
3. WCT-Liam Motley (1g, 1a)
Hardest Working Wolverines: Ryan Grant (1a)
Recap presented by:
