Wolverines and Canucks to Meet in 2024 Inter Pipeline Cup AJHL Finals
The Whitecourt Wolverines and Calgary Canucks have advanced to the 2024 Inter Pipeline Cup AJHL Finals starting Friday, April 12th. The winner of the best-of-seven-series will represent Alberta at the 2024 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.
The Whitecourt Wolverines captured the Dave Duchak Trophy for 2023-24 as the AJHL Regular Season Champions for the first time in franchise history with a record of 34-18-4-1 and 73 points. The Wolverines received an automatic berth into the 2024 Inter Pipeline Cup AJHL Playoffs where they eliminated the Camrose Kodiaks and Canmore Eagles to advance to the League Final.
The Calgary Canucks finished the regular season third overall with a record of 31-23-1-2 and 65 points. Calgary would defeat the Grande Prairie Storm then the Drumheller Dragons to earn their spot in the League Finals.
The Wolverines and Canucks met four times in the regular season with the home team taking the win in all four matches and finishing the season series with a 2-2 record. The last game between the two clubs was on February 10th, 2024 in Whitecourt.
This is the 13th league final appearance for the storied Calgary Canucks franchise, who also has nine League Championships to its name, but the first since 1999. Whitecourt has advanced to the league finals once previously in 2016-17. This is the first league final for Brad Moran (Calgary Canucks) and Shawn Martin (Whitecourt Wolverines), both of whom advanced into their role as General Manager and Head Coach of their respective clubs in the 2019-20 season.
The Calgary Canucks are led by Captain Bowden Singleton and the leadership group of Ty Hipkin, Riley Hearn and Ethan Casper. Calgary Canucks defenceman Easton Hewson (Minnesota State-Mankato) was identified on the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings for the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft.
Co-Captains Dylan Leslie and Colby Browne guide the Wolverines with alternate captains Travis Verbeek (University of Alaska Anchorage), Braden Keeble (Yale University) and Jack Franklin. The Wolverines boast AJHL Rookie of the Year Joey Melo, Top Goaltender Ben Charette (Harvard University) and two-time Coach of the Year Shawn Martin.
A full schedule can be found at AJHL.ca and on the AJHL App with live streaming of all games available on FloHockey.