It was a matinee matchup as the Sudbury Wolves taught a lesson to the visiting Kingston Frontenacs on Sunday afternoon, with the Pack scoring an impressive six goals in the opening frame.
Mason Vaccari was the starting goaltender for Kingston while Marcus Vandenberg, who was just acquired two days prior from the Niagara IceDogs, was in goal for the Wolves.
The Wolves got on the board early in this contest, as Wolves’ newcomer Lucas Signoretti, who was the leading scorer in the NOJHL before coming to Sudbury in a trade with Erie, scored his first goal in a Wolves uniform to give Sudbury a 1-0 lead 3:29 into the opening period.
With 12:40 to go in the first, Alex Pharand scored his fifth of the season to give Sudbury a 2-0 lead. Sudbury would do it again 2:29 minutes later as Djibril Toure scored to give Sudbury a commanding 3-0 lead.
With under two minutes remaining in the first, Evan Konyen scored his 11th goal of the season, increasing Sudbury’s lead even further, making the score 4-0. Not a bad way to start a hockey game.
There was 1:17 to go in the period when Chase Coughlan scored his fifth goal of the season to make the score 5-0 for the Wolves.
With 13 seconds remaining, Dalibor Dvorsky would score his 17th goal of the season to end the first period, putting the Wolves on top with a very comfortable 6-0 lead after just 20 minutes of play.
After the period, Kingston replaced starting goaltender Vaccari with backup JJ Salajko.
Just 37 seconds into the second period the Wolves would continue where they ended the first, with a goal from Landon McCallum, his 11th of the season, making the score 7-0 for the Wolves.
Kingston would finally score with a goal from Ethan Miedema, his 11th of the season, to make the score 7-1 for Sudbury, 3:03 into the period.
Four minutes later, Luke McNamara would score again for Kingston to make the score 7-2 for the Wolves.
Just under 11 minutes into the middle frame, Dvorsky scored his second of the game, and 18th of the season, making the score 8-2 for the Wolves.
At 13:58 into the second, Gage Heyes scored his seventh for the Frontenacs, making the score 8-3, with Sudbury in the lead.
During the goal celebration, Heyes roughed up one of the Wolves players, causing a scuffle in which both teams were given penalties.
The second period would end with the Wolves in the lead 8-3 with one period remaining.
The third period was a quiet one, with no scoring until the final minute of the game. Kingston’s Linus Hemstrom scored his 12th goal of the season with 39 seconds remaining in the game to make the score 8-4 for the Wolves.
With the win, the Wolves now hold a record of 15 wins, 10 losses, 2 overtime losses, and 1 shootout loss, good for second in the Ontario Hockey League’s Central Division, and fourth in the Eastern Conference. The Wolves also find themselves in a statistical tie with Northern Ontario rivals, the North Bay Battalion.
The Wolves will enjoy a few days of rest until they cross the border into Michigan with a game against the Flint Firebirds on Friday, Dec. 15 with a scheduled start time of 7 p.m. Then, the Pack heads to Saginaw on Dec. 16 to take on the Spirit, with a scheduled start time of 7:05 p.m.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers Sudbury Wolves games for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].
