Bantam battles for Sudbury bragging rights

Both the minor and major bantam versions of the Nickel City Sons and Sudbury Wolves were entangled in games 3 and 4 of their respective Northern Ontario AAA Hockey League semifinal series.

When the dust settled, one is going the distance while the other is all said and done.

Alex Guido scored at 7:57 of overtime, helping the Major Bantam Wolves stave off elimination with a 2-1 win over the Sons. With the series now tied at two games apiece, the teams head out to Levack tonight.

After posting a 4-0 win in Game 3 on Saturday, Nickel City opened the scoring Sunday morning at Carmichael, with Joel Grandbois turning on a pretty individual effort midway through the second period.

Kyle Liinamaa sent the game to an extra session, jamming home a rebound at 10:21 of the third, with Guido's heroics coming courtesy of a wrap-around attempt that was finally poked home on the third effort by Guido.

Alex Noel, Jacob Stos and Broedy Bertrand joined Grandbois on the scoresheet the previous day, with Brody Laberge picking up the shutout between the pipes for the Sons.

Meanwhile, in the minor bantam series, Nickel City rebounded from a surprising loss to Sudbury in Game 2, finishing off the Wolves in the final two games by scores of 4-1 and 6-0.

On Saturday, third-period goals from Cameron Keenan, Keegan Gillis-McAnulty, Devon St. Pierre and Nicholas Chokan helped the Sons overcome a 1-0 deficit heading into the final 17 minutes of play.

Félix Coté scored late in the first period, accounting for the only goal heading into the final frame before the visiting Nickel City crew finally got untracked.

No such problem in Game 4 as the Sons scored twice in the first, adding three more in the middle stanza en route to a comfortable win and a berth in the league final.

Bradley Chenier paced the Nickel City attack with a hat trick, with Alex Baronette, Joel Huffman and Ryan O'Bonsawin chipping in with one goal apiece.

Andrew Rocha registered the whitewash for the Sons, who now move on to face the Soo Greyhounds in the league final starting next weekend.

In other play involving local teams, the Sudbury Major Peewee Wolves split their weekend set with the North Bay Trappers, beating the favourites 4-1 before dropping a tough 1-0 decision on Sunday.

Games 3 and 4 are set for the Carmichael Arena on March 16 and 17, with game times of 2:30 p.m. and 11 a.m.

The Nickel City Minor Peewee Sons also went one for two on the road, beating Timmins 3-2 and losing 4-1 in the second game.

The Nickel City Major Peewees also followed suit, deadlocked in a 1-1 tie with Timmins in their semifinal affair. The North Stars surprised the home side 7-2 in the opener before the Sons squeaked out a 4-3 win on Sunday.

Timmins will head home with a chance to pull off the upset if they can sweep the league front-runners next weekend in Timmins.