Howls could be heard from the Sudbury Arena last night, as the Wolves earned a 4-1 victory in their one and only hosting of the Windsor Spitfires.
Shane Bulitka, Quinton Byfield and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen were named first, second and third stars in the victory over their West Divisional rivals, with final shots on goal 46-23 in favour of the Wolves.
The match got off to a slow start, with Lukkonen and Spitfires goalie Kari Piiorinen, prohibiting either team from opening the scoreboard. The Wolves outshot the Spitfires 13-9 in the opening frame.
The Wolves broke the stalemate 0.54 seconds into the second period, with a rocket launched by Darian Pilon. Windsor was unable to match his goal before the end of the period, and the Wolves exited the ice with a 1-0 lead. Sudbury continued to dominate in shots on goal, producing 32 to Windsor's 12 after the first 40 minutes.
Just under 8 minutes into the final frame, Bulitka launched one past Windsor defence to extended the Wolves lead to two. Windsor center Tyler Angle, managed to put the Spitfires on the board just under the midway mark of the period when a shot attempt initially blocked by Luukkonen, bounced on Angle's body and into the net.
Officials debated whether goaltender intereference had effected the shot, but eventually declared it a good goal. Byfield extended the Wolves lead to three, firing in a one-timer past Kari Piiroinen with 7:11 left in play.
In a last ditch effort to close the lead, Windsor pulled Piiroinen to earn the team an extra man. With their net exposed, Nolan Hutcheson landed the final goal to claim a 4-1 final for the Wolves.
Also making their one and only visit to the Sudbury Arena this weekend are the Sarnia Sting, facing off against the Wolves at 7:05 p.m. alongside former wolf, Anthony Tabak. Tonight's game also marks the first time that Adam Ruzicka faces-off against his old club.
@Keira_JFerguson
