By COLBY STOESZ
The Warman U18AAA Wildcats met the Saskatoon Blazers for a barnburner on Thursday, February 6. The Martensville Recreation Centre played host to the overtime thriller, with Ty Dauvin’s game-winner icing the cake on a 4-3 Wildcat victory.
Despite outshooting the Blazers 11-4, the Wildcats started the first period on their back feet. Saskatoon’s Jacob Durdle scored his first goal of the season less than two minutes after the puck dropped, giving his Blazers an early goal advantage.
The scoreboard remained unchanged for the rest of the frame, and Warman found themselves down 0-1 after 20 minutes of play.
Warman’s barrage on the Blazer goalie continued, outshooting Saskatoon 21-6 in the second period. Calder Hamilton put the Wildcats on the board early, netting a power play goal assisted by Jack Lavallee and Trey Markus.
Once again, the scoreboard did not reflect the growing shot discrepancy. Aiden Wagner snuck one past Corben Schnurr to regain the Blazers’ lead, and Warman went into the second intermission down 2-1.
Dade Wotherspoon scored 47 seconds out of the break, helped by Hudson Brehaut and Dylan Danyluk to level the tally for the Wildcats. Jack Lavallee gave Warman their first lead of the game with seven minutes left on the clock, a power-play goal and his 10th of the season. Cameron Jacobson assisted on the score.
Saskatoon’s Cooper Ernewein tied the game 3-3 with two minutes remaining and sent the match to an extra frame.
Ty Dauvin saved the day for the Wildcats, scoring the overtime game-winner with help from Kaleb Dewar and Lavallee. Corben Schnurr earned his third victory in a row between the pipes, a confidence booster for the netminder following a shaky stretch in January.
The Wildcats hosted the Estevan Great North Bears on February 8, but could not follow up on Wednesday’s success. Despite goals from Brehaut and Wotherspoon, Warman fell 5-2.
Warman has now secured their spot in the playoffs, and will fight for a better seed in their final four games of the season. The Wildcats will host the Blazers on Wednesday, February 12 the next time they take the ice.