The Jasper Bearcats travelled to Hinton on Saturday to meet their opposition from Whitecourt.
This game was a make up for the one cancelled due to the arena fire last weekend.
The last time these two teams met was back in November in Whitecourt and Jasper came out on top. The first period started quickly, with Bryn Malcolm putting the first point on the board two minutes into the frame.
The Bearcats had come to play. The Whitecourt goalie faced a barrage of shots: 31 in this period alone. And before the buzzer sounded, Jasper had slid the puck into the back of the net four times.
Connor Malcolm and Jack Hilworth, with assists to Jordan Overacker, Tristan Nissan and Noah Bielec, tallied those points.
But Whitecourt was not giving up. With a player in the penalty box, Jasper’s Chase Thompson was surprised by a shorthand rush that got the Wolverines on the board.
The Bearcats answered back three more times before the Wolverines could find their skates and add another marker.
Throughout the game, coaches Tony Bielec and Nik Pavlov could be heard giving out pointers when needed and doling out positive feedback to the team.
The second period ended with a score of 8–2 in Jasper’s favour.
With only 20 minutes left before the end of the Bearcats regular season, J.J. Keogan, Alex Chorneyko and Marley Pollock worked the boards halting any attempt at forward progression by the Wolverines. Erik Paukstat, one of the two bantam players on the team, added one of the three goals scored by the Bearcats in the third period.
Nathan Poirier played a cool two periods and with an assist under his belt continued showcasing his skill at reading the play and stopping the puck at the Wolverines’ blue line.
There are always players who might not see their names on the scoresheet, but without the likes of the strong leg work and tenacity of Ty Bielec and Bentley Fawcett, the puck would have strayed into our end more often than it did.
Following the team’s win on Saturday, the Bearcats secured a first place finish in the division.
The team is now waiting for a couple more games to be completed before the playoffs kick off, but it looks like the Bearcats will face the Wolverines in the first round.
Fingers crossed our home ice will be available for the first games Feb. 8 or 9.
Tamar Couture
Special to the Fitzhugh
