The Hazelton Wolverines delivered a commanding 6-3 victory against the Prince Rupert Rampage on Nov. 24 at the Upper Skeena Rec Centre.
The Wolverines took control after an early setback, as Prince Rupert’s Hunter Johnson netted a goal just 10 seconds into the game. Hazelton responded swiftly with Dawson McKenzie scoring at 2:22, followed by Freddie Mowatt’s late first-period goal, giving them a 2-1 lead.
Hazelton widened the gap in the second period with three unanswered goals from Daniel Kernaghan, Josh Maser, and Sean Maktaak, building a formidable 5-1 advantage.
In the third period, Prince Rupert rallied, with Tyler Matalone converting a power play goal at 3:06 and Johnson adding a shorthanded effort at 8:50. However, Matthew Wolfenden’s goal mid-period dashed any hopes of a comeback, securing a decisive win for Hazelton.
Roughly halfway through the 2024-2025 season, the win put Hazelton in first place in the western division of the Central Interior Hockey League with 13 points, one point ahead of the defending champion Terrace River Kings. The Kings, however, have two games in hand having only played seven to the Wolverines' nine.
For Prince Rupert, who have only played six games, the loss evens their season record to 3-3-0-0, just one point ahead of the Kitimat Ice Demons. However, the Ice Demons, who have had a hard go of it in the last few years have lost six of the nine games they have played for a record of 2-6-0-1.
On the eastern side of the league the Quesnel Kangaroos lead the pack with 13 points ahead of the Williams Lake Stampeders (10), the Smithers Steelheads (4) and the Nechako Northstars (2).
Hazelton's Tanner Wort, along with Quesnel's Alessio Tomassetti and Williams Lake's Brendan Pigeon lead the league in scoring each with 19 points.
Only three teams are in action this coming weekend as Terrace hits the road for games in Smithers Nov. 24 and Hazelton Nov. 25.
