The Sudbury Wolves were in action at home on Friday night, hoping to impress 4,758 fans with their 3-2 victory over the Peterborough Petes.
Marcus Vandenberg was the starting goaltender for the Wolves Feb. 23, while the Petes put Zach Bowen between the pipes.
The first goal of the game came 7:53 into the first period when Tommy Purdeller scored his ninth goal of the season to give the Petes a 1-0 lead.
With 2:11 remaining in the opening period former Wolf Caden Taylor scored his eighth goal of the season to increase the Petes lead to 2-0 after the first period of play.
The second period proved to be an uneventful one with neither team able to find the back of the net, leading to the second period ending the same way as the first, with Peterborough leading Sudbury by a score of 2-0.
The Wolves finally got on the board 10:28 into the third period with Nathan Villeneuve’s 20th goal of the season, and the Wolves now found themselves trailing Peterborough 2-1.
With 5:49 remaining in regulation, David Goyette scored his team-leading 34th goal of the season, this one on the power play, to tie the game for the Wolves at 2-2. This is how the third period ended, and both the Petes and the Wolves earned one point, looking to earn a second point in overtime.
Just over three minutes into the extra period, Villeneuve scored his second goal of the game to win the game for the Sudbury Wolves by a score of 3-2.
With the win, the Sudbury Wolves hold a record of 33 wins, 16 losses, three overtime losses, and two shootout losses, which is good for first place in the Central Division, tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with the Brantford Bulldogs, and tied for third place in the entire Ontario Hockey League, also with the Brantford Bulldogs.
The Sudbury Wolves travel to Mississauga for a game against the Mississauga Steelheads on Sunday, Feb. 25 with a scheduled start time of 4 p.m.