Wolverines blank Butte
<p>Whitefish forward Bryan Polmear rips a shot that scores to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead over the Butte Cobras in the first period of Saturday night’s Western States Hockey League game at the Stumptown Ice Den. (Aaric Bryan/Daily inter Lake)</p>
WHITEFISH — The Whitefish Wolverines poured on the offense in a 7-0 throttling of Butte on Saturday night in Western States Hockey League play at the Stumptown Ice Den.
Aleksei Garin opened the scoring midway through the first period and completed his hat trick with two goals to open the third for the Wolverines. Garin also added an assist on a goal from Brett Fernandez, who had a pair of assists earlier in the game.
Bryan Polmear and Brett Fernandez also had goals for Whitefish.
The Wolverines (14-21-1) finished 7-2 in the season series with the Cobras (10-23-2). They currently sit seven points up on Butte in the race for fourth place in the Northwest Division. The team that finishes fourth will host a playoff game.
Whitefish opens its final homestand of the season on Friday against the Lake Tahoe Blue (5-22-2).
Butte 0 0 0 — 0
Whitefish 2 1 4 — 7
First period—1, Whitefish, Aleksei Garin (Josh Schur, Bryan Polmear), 9:58. 2, Whitefish, Polmear (Brett Fernandez, Brendan Duff), 16:41.
Second period—3, Whitefish, Danny Roe, 14:04 (sh).
Third period—4, Whitefish, Garin (Richard Mulligan, Chris Cutshall), 8:01 (pp). 5, Whitefish, Garin (Fernandez, Roe), 9:57. 6, Whitefish, Fernandez (Polmear, Garin), 10:06. 7, Whitefish, Tyler Latimer (Cutshall), 14:18.
Shots on goal—Butte 13-17-10—40. Whitefish 14-14-19—47. Power play opportunities—Butte 0 for 6. Whitefish 1 for 2. Goalies—Butte, Tage Rustgi (44 shots-38 saves), Justin Keener (3-2). Whitefish, Brendan Duff (40-40). T—2:30. A—300.