Saturday, September 21, 2013
The Calgary Canucks finally got on to home ice and made good use of the opportunity, getting their second win of the season. The 5-3 win over the visiting Whitecourt Wolverines came on the heels of the season’s first win the night before in Camrose where the beat the Kodiaks 3-2.
Head Coach and General Manager Ryan Barrett raved about his team’s performance after the win: “The boys played extremely well. They dealt with all the distractions that come with a home opener and kept their composure. It’s not easy.”
After introducing the 2013-2014 edition of the storied Calgary Canucks to the hometown crowd, the team skated fairly evenly with the Wolverines for much of the first period. With a couple of powerplay opportunities, Derek Thorogood finally lifted one in the net. Colton Sheen got the assist in his second game with the team.
In the second, the Canucks made the best of their chances as Thorogood picked up a second goal (from Geiger and Mangone), Franz scored his team leading fourth (from Sheen and Lewington) before Dumaine knocked in a rebound (from Nicholas and Mangone) that got the team to a 4-0 lead. The Wolverines managed a goal before the end of the period.
In the third, the Wolverines took a number of penalties giving the Canucks’ powerplay more chances to work. Gianne Mangone bounced one in off the backboards to pick up the team’s 2nd powerplay goal of the night. They finished 4/4 on their penalty kills. Whitecourt added two but it was not enough as the Canucks won 5-3.
The team plays at home again on Monday evening as the Camrose Kodiaks come for a visit after losing to the Canucks at home on Friday night. Later in the week, the Canucks are off to the AJHL’s Showcase Weekend to play Sherwood Park and Canmore in Spruce Grove.