Wolverines check Blue

WHITEFISH — The Whitefish Wolverines saw a three-goal lead disappear late, but were able to rally to pick up a 5-3 victory over Lake Tahoe in Western States Hockey League play on Friday at the Stumptown Ice Den.

The Wolverines dominated possession in the first period and broke through on the scoreboard a shade over four minutes into the contest, with leading scorer Aleksei Garin slotting in a goal after teammates Brett Fernandez and Chris Cutshall chased down a Lake Tahoe clearing attempt in the offensive zone.

After a few strong chances later in the first didn’t find net, Whitefish was able to crack through the pads of Blue goaltender Nick Bretzger again in the second, with team captain Danny Roe charging the zone and dropping off a pass for Riley Ingalls to snipe into the top shelf from outside the circle.

The Wolverines nearly got another seconds later and found their third of the night in short order, Evan Carter zipping a pass from the left side into a wide open Stosh Mroz in the slot, who chipped in his sixth goal of the season.

However, Whitefish’s advantage was short lived. Lake Tahoe’s Brandon Aab scored on an odd-man rush just 44 seconds later to grab a bit of hope entering the third period.

That’s when the ice shifted. Julius Bauermeister scored for the Blue just 19 seconds into the third and five minutes later Nicholas Lang fired a shot through the legs of a Wolverines defenseman and past Whitefish goalie Brendan Duff to tie the game.

“They got the 3-3 goal, I know it was going to come,” Whitefish coach Joakim Falt said. “We didn’t have a good game today. We were very sloppy. We looked like we were out of energy all night.”

Duff was able to keep the Wolverines close late, blocking away a pair of two-on-one breaks and gloving down another open shot from the slot. Duff finished with 31 saves on 34 shots.

After a few good Wolverine tries were sent wanting by Bretzger, Whitefish was finally able to break through with two minutes to play. Ingalls drove to the net and laid a shot off the right pad of Bretzger, which rebounded directly to Whitefish forward Tyler Latimer for an easy goal.

“It was a great take by Riley,” Latimer said of the game-winning goal. “It came off the pad and it was as easy as putting it in.”

Fernandez added an empty netter in the final seconds to tab his third point of the game.

“The good part is we won when we played bad,” Falt said. “Tahoe proved that they’re not going to lay down. They’re going to fight. They had a phenomenal goalie.”

Bretzger finished with 49 saves in net for the Blue on 53 shots.

The two teams continue their series tonight at 7:05 at the Stumptown Ice Den. They close the three-game set on Sunday at 5:05 p.m.

Lake Tahoe 0 1 2 — 3

Whitefish 1 2 2 — 5

First period—1, Whitefish, Aleksei Garin (Chris Cutshall, Brett Fernandez), 4:16.

Second period—2, Whitefish, Riley Ingalls (Danny Roe, Fernandez), 1:42. 3, Whitefish, Stosh Mroz (Evan Carter, Kristian Evans), 4:40. 1, Lake Tahoe, Brandon Aab (Julius Bauermeister, Hunter Lovdokken), 5:24.

Third period—2, Lake Tahoe, Bauermeister (Lovdokken, Luke Erickson), 0:19. 3, Lake Tahoe, Nicholas Lang (David Raus, Erickson), 5:45. 4, Whitefish, Tyler Latimer (Ingalls, Carter), 17:58. 5, Whitefish, Fernandez (Garin, Cutshall), 19:57 (en).

Shots on Goal—Lake Tahoe 8-9-17—34. Whitefish 17-14-23—54. Power play opportunities—Lake Tahoe 0 for 3; Whitefish 0 for 3. Goalies—Lake Tahoe, Nick Bretzger (53 shots-49 saves). Whitefish, Brendan Duff (34-31). T—2:40. A—275.