Despite notching their fourth loss in a row, the Sudbury Wolves have the Niagara IceDogs a run for their money during a Friday night home game.
The game ended with a 5-4 shootout loss for the Wolves.
“You can’t ask much more as a group of guys who continue to lose bodies,” associate coach Darryl Moxam said after the game in a video posted to the Wolves’ website, adding that the team has continued to grapple with COVID-19 and injuries.
“For the most part we did all of the right things,” he said, crediting the IceDogs for having “one heck of a goaltender.”
The Wolves had 45 shots on net to the IceDogs’ 29.
“If you’re asking about the will and the effort of the guys left on the bench at the end, it was phenomenal,” Moxam said.
The Wolves led the pack early in the game, with a lone goal by David Goyette near the 18-minute mark.
The IceDogs hammered the Wolves with four goals during the second period, which the Wolves answered with a lone goal by Marc Boudreau.
The Wolves attempted a heroic comeback with goals by Nolan Collins and Lian Ross in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to push them over the edge, leading to an unsuccessful overtime bid.
The game ended in a shootout win for the IceDogs, despite another goal by Goyette.
“We played for each other, we played for the guy next to us, and that’s why we were able to come back and push through overtime,” Boudreau said after the game.
The Wolves hit the road for the next game on Sunday against the Mississauga Steelheads and will return home for a Tuesday game against Niagara at 7:05 p.m.
Moxam said that he hopes to see the Wolves map a clean path toward the playoffs. The team is currently ninth of 10 in the Eastern Conference, with only Niagara lagging behind.
