The Sudbury Wolves welcomed the Flint Firebirds to the Sudbury Arena Friday, for their second matchup following a 5-3 defeat at the Dort Federal Event Centre back in October.
The pack came out swinging, establishing a strong lead right off the bat, but it was consistent pressure throughout that earned them an 8-5 final.
Sudbury Wolves Quinton Byfield earned the title of first star for delivering one goal and four assists in the game, followed by second star David Levin, who knocked out two goals and one assist.
Carolina Hurricane's prospect Blake Murray opened up a busy period for the Wolves four minutes into play, with assistance from Owen Robinson and Byfield. Robinson returned to the net just two shots later, to bump that lead to two with help from Byfield and Isaak Phillips.
Former Wolves player Owen Lalonde got Flint on the scoreboard shortly thereafter at 14:41, with assistance from Jack Wismer and Ty Dellandrea, but this would prove to be a short-lived celebration.
Levin scored his first goal of the evening and 11th of the season just under a minute later, with help from Murray and Emmett Serensits.
The five-season Wolves player delivered his second on a power play at 16:08, with assistance from Byfield and rookie Kalle Loponen.
Sudbury moved into the second period up three, outshooting their visitors 13-8 in the first 20 minutes.
Both teams suffered a stalemate in the second period, thanks in part to a strong presence between the pipes by Wolves' Mitchell Weeks and Firebirds' Anthony Popovich.
This shot-for-shot action was eventually broken up by rookie Landon McCallum at 12:26, who delivered his second goal of the season with assistance from Serensits and Byfield.
Flint responded with two nearly back-to-back shots just under three minutes later, by Dallas Stars' prospect Dellandrea and teammate Connor Roberts.
The Firebirds moved into the final frame down two, with shots on goal that period 13-12 in favour of Sudbury.
Rookie Chase Stillman delivered what would be considered the game-winning goal for Sudbury at 5:24, with help from Levin and Bulitka, but the period was just getting started.
Flint's Riley McCourt netted his 10th goal of the season at 11:32, with assistance from Emmet Pierce and rookie Zacharie Giroux. He was followed to the net less than four minutes later by Cody Morgan, bringing the team's deficit to one.
But Sudbury was not going to have a repeat of October's results.
With a minute and a half left in play, Macauley Carson delivered a shorthanded insurance goal for Sudbury on the empty net of their opposition with help from Bulitka. Byfield topped this up with a shorthanded goal of his own 29 seconds later, closing out the period with assistance from Bulitka and Liam Ross.
In the end, Sudbury claimed their third straight win on home ice with an 8-5 final.
Sudbury fell behind in shots on goal 13-11 in the final frame, but lead in shots overall 37-33.
The Sudbury Wolves are first in the Central Division, second in the Eastern Conference and third in the league overall, with 17 wins and 11 losses.
The pack host the Barrie Colts Sunday, with the aim of securing their third win of three matchups this season.
