Wolverines face off with Butte at home

The Whitefish Wolverines are preparing for a busy run up to the holidays on the ice. It begins with a two game series against rival Butte Cobras Dec. 12 and 13 at the Stumptown Ice Den.

Although the Wolverines defeated the Cobras in both contests of their most recent two-game stand in Butte, the second game in that series took double overtime to decide. The first required the Wolverines to recover from a three goal deficit to claw back to a five to three result.

The Wolverines piled shots on the Cobras’ net all weekend, delivering somewhere between 37 and 44 — depending on whose count you believe — on Friday and again in the high 30s low 40s on Saturday.  

Whitefish was backstopped by Brendan Duff who finished with 32 saves on Saturday and 28 on Friday.

Both games were heated and testy affairs, which bodes well for the type of weekend the Wolverines have to look forward to.

After the Butte series, the team will depart for the Western States Shootout in Las Vegas. This is the premier Junior A showcase in North America, providing the players an opportunity to demonstrate their skills to college recruiters and tier II and tier I scouts from across the country.

The Wolverines’ draw for the tournament will provide an interesting measure against teams from other divisions in the 28-team Western States Hockey League.

According to the rating system employed by the league, the Wolverines will be the underdogs in these matchups, but that is why they play the game. Each of the four Wolverines’ games will be broadcast at FASTHockey.com.

The players go on Christmas release following the tournament and return to Whitefish Jan. 4 to begin preparing for the playoff push.