In their final game of 2023, the Sudbury Wolves took to the ice in Sault Ste. Marie to teach the Greyhounds a lesson.
The Wolves scored early and didn’t look back in this one, powering their way through to a 5-1 win and ending 2023 on a high note.
Exactly 5:30 into the first period, Nathan Villeneuve scored his eighth goal of the season to give the Sudbury Wolves an early 1-0 lead.
The period would remain scoreless for the next 10 minutes, until with 5:01 remaining in the period, Kocha Delic scored his 10th of the season to give Sudbury an insurance goal and a 2-0 lead.
Two minutes later though, Marco Mignosa would cut Sudbury’s lead in half by scoring his 15th goal of the season for the Greyhounds, sending the teams to the dressing rooms with the Wolves leading 2-1.
Rather than scoring goals in the second period, Sudbury decided to collect penalties. The Pack sent players to the box four times in the middle frame, while the Soo only picked up one. Still, despite ample opportunities with a man advantage, the Hounds couldn’t capitalize. The second period ended with the score still sitting at 2-1.
The scoring drought would end in the final frame. At 5:20 of the third period, Kieron Walton would score his fourth goal in two games and his 13th of the season to give the Wolves a 3-1 lead and a bit of a cushion.
There was very little scoring action in the rest of the period until the 19:16 mark of the third, when Quentin Musty scored on an empty net to give the Wolves a 4-1 lead.
With two seconds left in the game, Matthew Mania scored his second goal of the season to seal the deal, and the game ended with a 5-1 victory for the Sudbury Wolves.
With the win, the Pack holds a record of 18 wins, 11 losses, three overtime losses, and trwo shootout losses, which is good for first place in the Ontario Hockey League’s Central Division and tied for first place with the Brantford Bulldogs in the Eastern Conference heading into 2024.
The Wolves start 2024 with a pair of games on home ice. On Jan. 5, they welcome the Brantford Bulldogs for a 7:05 p.m. game. Then on Jan. 6, the Kitchener Rangers come to town, again for a 7:05 p.m. game.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers Sudbury Wolves games for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].
