Two point shots and a beauty. The Sudbury Wolves completed a third-period comeback and got some revenge on the Barrie Colts with a 3-2 overtime win Sunday afternoon.
It was a second straight win for the Wolves who improve to 3-2 on the season and get a bit of payback after taking a 10-3 loss in Barrie on Thursday.
“Definitely shows our determination out there,” said Quinton Byfield. “This season we want to win, and just battling back getting in the game there, is definitely important. Getting that overtime goal was huge for us, especially getting revenge on them after the big loss. So I think it was really a good game, good comeback.”
Major losses like last Thursday’s in Barrie are something you have to move passed, Emmett Serensits said.
“Thursdays happen and it’s games you wish never happen, but you got to choose to forget about them and everyone has to just drop it and move on, have a hard practice the next day and get ready to play, keep it going the next day,” said Emmett Serensits.
It was a case of what goes around, comes around, as first overall pick Byfield gave up the puck in his own zone, which led to the second goal for Barrie, only to score a beautiful overtime winner.
“That was definitely sitting on my shoulders, the turnover where they went on a 2-on-0,” Byfield said. “That was my fault, so getting that goal at the end was a big relief. I have to be better out there for that in my d-zone. But it was definitely a big relief to get the game winner there,” said Byfield.
Byfield took a pass from Macauley Carson, skated across the blueline on the left side of the ice and picked the right corner of the net perfectly.
“I know he had a big smile on his face when he came in here, so it’s always good to see young guys come here help the team out, help the team win. You can’t ask anything more from him,” said Serensits.
With the team down 2-0 and top player Macauley Carson called for high sticking and a 10-minute misconduct for talking to the refs late in the second period, the situation looked bleak.
But Carson came back out midway through the third and the tide began to turn.
“Quite honestly the first couple periods we thought we looked a little bit sluggish. We stuck to the system, but we were a step behind,” said Wolves Associate Coach Darryl Moxam. “In the third period, you know Macauley gets out of the penalty box and then that last 10 minutes he added a big spark for our hockey club and quite honestly might have been the difference.”
Darian Pilon fired a shot from the point with just about nine minutes to play and it found its way into the net to cut the lead in half.
Two minutes later a similar play led to the tying goal.
Serensits took a shot from the right point, it got tipped in front and beat Colts goalie Kai Edmonds.
It was a big difference from the first two periods, when the Wolves had their chances, especially on a 5-on-3 in the first period, but Edmonds was able to see all the shots.
With both goalies having a hot night, traffic in front of the net was key.
“That was part of the message, and that’s part of the message every day. We have to stick to a system and and we have to outwork other teams and going into the third that was the message to our guys,” said Moxam.
The other major key was a second straight brilliant performance from goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who once again kept the team in the game and allowed them to complete a comeback.
“You look at both goaltenders tonight, the shots were almost dead even and they were doing their job at both ends of the ice,” Moxam said. “Ukko was doing a great job, he’s had a great week for us, that’s what he’s here to do and hopefully it continues.”
Sudbury narrowly outshot Barrie 33-31 with Lukkonen stopping 29 of 31 shots.
The Wolves improve their record and also take a step towards distancing themselves from last season, when Sudbury didn’t pick up its third win until Oct. 18.
They’re on a two-game win streak, unbeaten at home and picked up that third win before the calendar turned to October.
It’s a big boost as the local juniors once again hit the road and won’t be back home until October 12.
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.
