Fernandez Fine Finish: Wolverines Defeat Butte
Recent contests against the Butte Cobras have become some of the most important. These heated games determine what team clinches the number four position in the playoff run, and going into tonight’s game, the Wolverines lead the Cobras by a small, three point margin. Maintaining the current spot means the Wolverines receive home ice advantage, hosting the number five team in the division for the first round of the playoffs.
The Wolverines went into tonight’s game one player short of a full roster. Danny Roe, a key force to the defensive side, received a two game suspension after a Missoula Mauler player jumped him very late in the third period in last Thursday's contest. Roe served his final game of the suspension in tonight’s game, which means he resumes play tomorrow night when the Wolverines host the Cobras at Stumptown Ice Den.
Whitefish displayed toughness and determination throughout period one play. The Wolverines’ penalty killing proved solid, denying the Cobras a goal on a Tyler Latimer tripping penalty. About four minutes later, the Wolverines had their own power play after Jack Aldrich was also called for tripping, but they were unable to capitalize. Then, Ricky Mulligan received an interference call, putting the Cobras back on the power play. While on the man advantage, PJ Silveria tipped an Anton Zimmer shot past Wolverines’ goalie Brendan Duff, sending Whitefish to the room down 1-0. Whitefish did, however, dominate face-offs and maintained strong puck control, outshooting the Cobras 10-7 in the first frame.
The Wolverines roared out of the gate to start the second period, peppering Butte’s netminder, Tage Rustgi. Brett Fernandez finally opened the scoring for the Wolverines when he found a loose puck amongst a scrum in the crease and buried it to square the match. The Wolverines continued to get power play chances with back to back penalties on Derick Brehm for interference and Anton Zimmer for tripping. It was during the second power play that Alex Garin scored the eventual game winner after receiving a pass from Mulligan.
The Wolverines took a 2-1 lead into the third period and tightened their defense down to stifle Butte’s effort to slither back, holding off the Cobra’s empty net and extra skater desperation push. In the end, Whitefish nearly doubled up Butte on shots 40-22 and came away with a 2-1 victory. Second half of the home and home will be at the Stumptown Ice Den Saturday night. Puck drops at 7:05 pm.
