Two weekend losses leave Jasper at 1-2 on season, tied for second in division

Down 6-0 in the second period, it took just 41 seconds for the Jasper Wolves to respond. Tallying five of the next six goals scored, the hometown team made a game of it against Slave Lake, the most dominant team in the North Central Hockey League, before succumbing by a 7-5 final score.

A large and supportive crowd was numbed somewhat in the opening period by a steady march to the penalty box by players from both teams. An early two-man advantage for the visiting Winter Hawks came to nothing before Slave Lake managed to open the scoring, Brad MacTavish beginning a prolific night with a good finish on a two on one rush. The visitors would double their lead some six minutes later, capitalizing on one of their many powerplay chances against the Wolves.

Despite being two goals in arrears after the first period, the Wolves should have been pleased that they prevented their opponents from seizing the game by the throat in the opening 20 minutes. In its first game of the season, Slave Lake had blasted the hapless Onoway side 16-1, taking 60 shots in the process. It was a good sign, then, that the Wolves had allowed only nine shots on goal in the first.

It took less than three minutes of the second period to expire before the Winter Hawks began to express their dominance more assertively. A lengthy stretch of puck possession in the Jasper zone led to Adam Ching skating from the point into the high slot, where he buried a hard wrist shot over Adam Savoie in the Wolves net. Just moments later, MacTavish rang a sharp angle shot off the goal post as he prowled the offensive area of the rink.

After a bit of misfortune saw the Wolves fall behind by another goal when a soft shot deflected off a Jasper defenceman and behind Savoie, MacTavish left the home crowd pondering the prospect of a heavy defeat with a predatory display in front of goal.

With the Winter Hawks enjoying yet another power play, MacTavish one-timed a puck past Savoie, who must have been dizzy from the Winter Hawks quick touch passing that set up the shot. Just five minutes later, MacTavish had his hat trick on a redirection and Jasper was down 6-0.

While many teams might have written off the remaining 24 minutes of  play, the Wolves came back with a ferocity clearly foreign to Slave Lake. Duane Penney started the recovery with a pretty one-on-one move less than one minute after MacTavish’s third goal. A two-man powerplay for the Wolves then turned into special teams gold for Rob Olsen, who shoveled a inviting rebound past the Winter Hawks goaltender, who suddenly found himself under seige.

Jasper scored one more for good measure with just 14 seconds left in the period, with player-coach Chuck Barker finding the back of the net. A stunned but pleased crowd gave the home team a rousing ovation as they headed for the dressing room down 6-3.

Any hopes of a miraculous comeback seemed to be dashed just seconds after the restart, however when Slave Lake’s Brian Bouchard slid a seventh goal past Savoie after a partial breakaway, but the Wolves persevered to peg their opponents back.

Two minutes after the Winter Hawks had seemingly put the game out of reach, Matt Cherewyk reinvigorated the crowd and his teammates. Chasing a rolling puck the length of the ice, the hulking defenceman buried a quick shot to the glove side and Jasper was back. Again.

A powerplay opportunity was converted by the Wolves and again Barker played a key role. Chasing a dump in behind the Slave Lake goal, Barker was well placed to knock down a poor clearing attempt by the Winter Hawks goaltender. He then fed linemate Martin Hajek, who was open in the slot and he made no mistake. There was all to play for with 14 minutes to go in the game.

Fans tend to look forward to two things at a hockey game- goals and fights. Having been treated to twelve of the former, it looked like there would be some fisticuffs around the mid-point of the final period. Rob Olsen pursued his opposite number after an incident in front of the Wolves bench but when he tackled the Slave Lake player to the ice, the linesmen stepped in, preventing a full-blown altercation. Olsen still landed a few punches to his opponent’s back but soon both men involved were cooling their heels off the ice. So was everyone else concerned, as a seemingly interminable delay ensued while the officials tried to sort out the penalty situation.

With the ensuing four skaters against four persisting for several minutes, whatever momentum Jasper had built had dissipated by the time the Wolves were awarded a powerplay with about one minute to play. Savoie headed for the bench, but it was a skate in vain, the 7-5 score remaining unchanged at the final buzzer.

It was a disappointing end to a sub-par weekend for the Wolves, who fell to 8-4 to Drayton Valley on Friday night. Slave Lake, meanwhile, got back to their dominating ways Sunday night, pounding Hinton by a 15-3 score. The undefeated Winter Hawks are tied with Lamont for the lead in the NCHL’s Northern division. The Wolves 1-2 record is good for a three-way second place tie in the South with Edson and Hinton. This coming weekend Jasper is on the road against Hinton Friday evening before returning home to face off against the Fox Creek Bandits. The puck drops at 8:30 pm. 

The Fitzhugh’s Wolves three stars of Saturday’s game:

3- Matt Cherewyk

His  goal in the third restored his team’s belief after going down 7-3. He also played the body well on several occasions against a swift-skating Slave Lake team.

2-Lee Dolan

Three assists for Dolan, who kept the puck moving in the offensive zone all night.

1- Chuck Barker

Scored one goal and made two others. Barker’s hustle led directly to one goal and his powerful point shot set up another. Only 5’6, he was still the biggest of the Wolves on this night.