For one Sudbury Wolves player, the team's 5-4 defeat of the Oshawa Generals Saturday night was more than the team's fourth win in a row, it was a moment of history.
One more win for the Sudbury Wolves means gold-medal athlete, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has broken the franchise record for most wins in one regular season by a Wolves goaltender with 34. The previous record was set in 2006-2007 by Kevin Beech, who had a total of 33 wins in the season.
Wolves goal scorers in this exciting match up against their East Division rivals were Quinton Byfield, Blake Murray, Macauley Carson and Anthony DeMeo. Final shots on goal were 34-28 in favour of Sudbury.
Wolves' Byfield opened up the game in the first period, scoring a shorthanded goal on an open net to give Sudbury a 1-0 advantage. The pack were able to maintain their lead heading into second, denying any attempt by Generals offence to even the score.
A point shot by DeMeo early into second allowed Murray to tip in one more for Sudbury, starting the period with a score of 2-0. Wolves' Carson was hot on his heels, roofing in a backhand goal past Kyle Keyser to give Sudbury a lead of three.
Just under the midway mark of the second period, DeMeo proved his shots were as good as his assists, delivering the Wolves' second shorthanded goal of the night. That was the final straw for the Oshawa Generals, who got on the board at 15:26 off a shot by Brandon Saigeon.
The Generals earned their second of the night with a penalty shot by Anthony Salinitri, following interference by Wolves' Emmett Serensits. Oshawa had little time to celebrate their comeback as 20 seconds later, Byfield sent in a shot that inched its way across the goal line to end the period 5-2.
Oshawa were able to score two more goals in the final frame, pulling Keyser in the final minutes for an extra attacker. Despite efforts, the Generals were unable to catch the Wolves lead and the match ended with a final of 5-4 for Sudbury.
The Wolves finish off their three-game weekend this afternoon in North Bay, facing off against the Battalion 2 p.m. at North Bay Memorial Gardens.
