A comeback squashed by a major penalty in the third period as the Sudbury Wolves fell 8-4 to the Hamilton Bulldogs.
“That’s a tough one, yesterday we killed off six minutes (of penalties) and then today playing a top-ranked power play, they scored three goals, and that’s the difference of the hockey game,” Stillman said.
The Sudbury Wolves were trailing 3-0 at one point but brought it back to 4-3 with momentum on their side when Darian Pilon received two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting, 10-minute misconduct, a game misconduct for the aggressor and a game misconduct for removing the helmet.
“We came back in the game, I felt like we were going to win. Then penalty again and that’s what happens when you take penalties. I don’t blame anyone, but when you take penalties that’s what happens,” said Wolves Forward David Levin.
Friday night, Stillman benched Darian Pilon, but tonight he was calm.
“Throughout the year we’ve done a good job (with discipline). Drake’s been great with it, he’s been a team guy, and Darian’s been good, the last couple games he stepped out of it. I’m not going to say anything on Darian that way, he comes, he competes hard, and everybody sees it, but I’m going to have to reel him in a bit,” Stillman said.
Perhaps the calmness was due to the much better effort of the Sudbury Wolves who had come off a shut-out loss to Oshawa.
Both teams had trouble finding their footing with no goals in the first period, but the second was a scoring explosion.
Connor Walters started the scoring beating a screened Marshall Frappier.
Rookie Arthur Kaliyev put home his 25th of the season about eight minutes later which was closely followed up by Brandon Saigeon’s 31st of the year.
The pack had not scored in six periods, going back to a four-goal first period in Sarnia.
Macauley Carson broke that with a fine wrap-around effort for his 7th on the season.
A point shot by Benjamin Gleason brought the lead back to three goals for Hamilton and ended the night for Marshall Frappier who in two straight starts was chased from the net in the second period after four goals.
David Levin scored a key goal late in the second period on the power play, assisted by Macauley Carson. Levin jumped at the opportunity Carson fed at the side of the net and made a gorgeous deke to make the defender look silly followed by a top-shelf over Kaden Fulcher.
In the third period, Carson batted a puck out of the air in front of the net for his second of the game.
“That’s the best game Cars has played all year in my eyes, he kept it simple, he took the puck to the net, he went to the net, he finished bodies. Maybe that’s a start for him,” Stillman said.
It was Carson second multi-goal game of the season and first since December 1.
Then the Wolves went on the penalty kill.
Behind the play, Darian Pilon and Benjamin Gleason got tangled up.
Gleason, who was under Pilon, gave him a couple punches with his glove and perhaps a knee.
Pilon responded by dropping his gloves and hitting Gleason with a few punches before the refs stepped in.
With the game 4-3 for Hamilton, they were able to score just 12 seconds into the five-minute major.
The Wolves took a delay of game penalty, and Gleason made them pay on the two-man advantage.
Marian Studinec added the third power-play marker which killed any chance of a comeback.
“As a whole, we played well, they’re a good team, top 10 and you know what to kill a five-minute major if they score it doesn’t go off the clock,” Stillman said.
Riley Stillman scored on a slap-shot in front of his Dad and the Wolves bench to make it 8-3, and Blake Murray scored his 16th late to bring it back to 8-4.
The Sudbury Wolves will now be on the road for seven straight games.
Their next home game will be March 9 against North Bay.
@Nick Liard covers the Sudbury Wolves for Sudbury.com, provides game commentary for the Wolves on Eastlink, and serves as news director at 92.7 Rock and Kiss 105.3.
