The Sudbury Wolves showcased a defensive effort on Thursday night as they took the ice for game one of round one of the 2024 Ontario Hockey Playoffs against the Mississauga Steelheads.
The Wolves went with Carolina Hurricanes prospect Jakub Vondras as their starting goaltender while Ryerson Leenders suited up in goal for the Steelheads.
Landon McCallum got the Wolves started less than two minutes into the first period with his first goal of the playoffs, assisted by Matthew Mania and Zacharie Giroux, giving the Wolves an early 1-0 lead.
Despite several chances and a steady parade to the penalty box for both teams, both goalies were perfect in goal until 3:17 remaining in the opening period when Dalibor Dvorsky scored his first goal of the playoffs to give the Sudbury Wolves a 2-0 lead after the first period of play.
The second period was an uneventful as far as goals go, with both Leenders and Vondras shutting the door and keeping the score at 2-0 for the Wolves with one period remaining in the game.
The Steelheads gave it everything they had to get on the scoreboard in the third period, but Vondras made 14 saves in the third period, along with an empty net goal from Dvorsky, his second goal of the game, sealed a 3-0 shutout victory for the Sudbury Wolves over the Mississauga Steelheads.
This was Jakub Vondras’ first career Ontario Hockey League playoff victory, his first career OHL playoff shutout, and his second overall career shutout in the league.
With the victory the Sudbury Wolves hold a 1-0 lead in the Best-of-seven round one series over the Mississauga Steelheads.
The Sudbury Wolves take the ice for game two of the series against the Steelheads on Saturday, March 30 with a scheduled start time of 4 p.m.
