The Kal Tire Junior Wolves defeated the Manitoulin Islanders 7-4 in their first exhibition game in Junior A hockey action Aug. 27 at the Sudbury Arena.
With only eight returning players this year, the defending
NOJHL champions will be feeling out what some of the younger
players can do.
 
"By the time we re-group by the weekend, I should have a pretty
good feel as to what most guys can do and be ready to move on
for next week," said Junior Wolves head coach David
Clancy.
He added that he thought his team played pretty well considering most of them had never played together before.
"We're rebuilding again. We had a good run the last couple of years here and it's time to rebuild and bring in some younger players," said Clancy.
The Junior Wolves were leading the game at the end of the first period 3-1 with goals scored by Erik Belanger, Chris Kangas and Cody Duguay.
A highlight was when Kangas scored a short-handed goal. Clancy thinks Kangas will be a key player this year.
"I think Chris Kangas will be a big factor in this league this year. He's a big strong player and he can dominate at times." he said.
The second period had goals scored by Chris Pontes, Johnny Duhamel and Cheyenne Wakekijg, who scored a second goal in the third.
Returning goalie Joey Delwo minded the net the first half of the game saving 17 of 18 shots on net.
"My goal tending will be steady this year. Joey proved himself last year that he can play at this level, so I'm quite confident," Clancy said.
Brett Gauthier was on net for the second half of the game saving 15 of 17 shots on net.
Sudbury's next exhibition game will be in Manitoulin on Aug. 29, returning home for the regular season on Sept. 10 against the Abitibi Eskimos at Centennial Arena in Hanmer.
