The Sudbury Wolves had a couple of new faces in the lineup for the game on Friday night against the Niagara IceDogs, a game that saw Niagara steal the game in the last minute to win the game 5-4.
Friday was trade deadline day in the Ontario Hockey League, and the Sudbury Wolves added two new faces to their team before the deadline.
They picked up Noah Roberts from the Brantford Bulldogs and Henry Mews from the Ottawa 67s. Also acquired before the deadline was goaltender and Sudbury native Karsen Chartier from the Sarnia Sting.
Sudbury entered the contest with a record of 21 wins, 11 regulation losses, and five overtime losses, and in third place in the Central Division.
Nate Krawchuk was once again the starting goaltender for the Sudbury Wolves while Owen Flores was between the pipes for the Niagara IceDogs.
Just over seven minutes into the hockey game, Kocha Delic tipped the puck in front of the net to extend his goal scoring streak to eight games and his 19th goal of the season, making the score 1-0 for Sudbury. Henry Mews picked up an assist on the play for his first point in a Sudbury Wolves uniform.
With just under five minutes left in the first period and the Wolves killing a double minor Checking From Behind penalty by Rowan Henderson, Andrei Loshko fired off a quick shot from the left faceoff circle for a power play goal, his 25th goal of the season, to tie the game 1-1 after the first period.
Less than a minute into the second period the Wolves failed to get the puck out of their own zone, resulting in former Wolf Alex Assadourian scoring his 11th goal of the season, giving Niagara a 2-1 lead.
At the 11:14 mark of the middle frame, Chase Coughlan received a nice feed from Ondrej Molnar, and put the puck in the back of the net for his 14th goal of the season, tying the game for the Wolves with the score now 2-2.
With 29 seconds left in the second period, Rowan Henderson shot the puck which was saved by Flores. Mews picked up the rebound and scored his first goal as a member of the Sudbury Wolves, giving Sudbury a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.
Just under 10 minutes into the third, Assadourian took a pass from Kevin He and scored his second goal of the game for the Dogs to once again tie the game 3-3.
Right off a faceoff win with 5:07 remaining in the third, Jack Brauti scored his fifth goal of the season, giving the IceDogs a 4-3 lead.
With just over three minutes left to play, Sudbury tied the game at 4-4 thanks to Chase Coughlan’s second goal of the game from the slot area.
With 25 seconds left in the game, Matthew Paris broke the Wolves fans hearts when he scored from the left faceoff circle to seal a 5-4 victory for the Niagara IceDogs over the Sudbury Wolves.
With the loss, the Sudbury Wolves now hold a record of 21 wins, 12 regulation losses, and five overtime losses on the season, good for third place in the Ontario Hockey League’s Central Division.
The Sudbury Wolves remain on home ice for a game against the Kingston Frontenacs on Jan. 12, with puck drop scheduled for 2:05 p.m.
