Story Coming In:
Fort McMurray ended the season with their first three game winning streak since December of 2022. With added confidence, the Oil Barons are set for their first round, North Division semi-final series against Whitecourt. The MOB went 2-2-2 against the Wolverines this season. Three of the six games between the two teams went to overtime, while four games were decided by a single goal. Carter Schmidt and Charles-Olivier Villenueve led the team in points against Whitecourt, each with seven. The Oil Barons also saw Justin Dumais wrap up the regular season on a seven game point streak, while Shawn Eliav was named the Defensive Player of the Week in the AJHL. The interesting matchup for this series will be the battle between the pipes. Both Vincent Filion and Zac Onyskiw are AJHL MVP nominees, however, both goaltenders have seen the shooters get the better of them, with Filion posting a 3.33 goals against average and an .887 save percentage, while Onyskiw has a 2.98 GAA and .903 save percentage in the season series.
View From Whitecourt:
The Wolverines wrapped up the 2024/25 season with their first North Division title in franchise history. Tied with the Calgary Canucks for the top spot in the AJHL, Whitecourt is considered by many as one of the favourites to capture the league championship. It all starts on defence. The Wolverines gave up the fewest goals per game in the AJHL at 2.3, earning Zac Onyskiw and Elliott Pratt the league’s Top Goaltenders award. Onyskiw is also nominated for Goalie of the Year and League MVP, after leading all goalies in wins, goals against average and a .939 save percentage (setting a new AJHL record previously held by former Oil Baron Jesse Gordichuk). Three other Wolverines are also up for AJHL awards. Jalen Bianchet finished the season on an eight game point streak, en route to his Forward of the Year nomination, Xavier Lacoste is up for Defender of the Year, while Braden Keeble is up for most Dedicated Player of the Year. Whitecourt also leans on balanced goal scoring to get the job done on offence, with eight Wolverines putting up four or more points against the Oil Barons in the season series, led by Travis Verbeek and Dylan Ruptash with seven.
Stats Leaders For Fort McMurray:
Goals: Akkouche (19)
Assists: Akkouche (30)
Points: Akkouche (49)
PIM: Nordstrom (104)
Goalies: Filion: 20-19-2-1, 2.71 GAA, 0.911%
