It was a packed house on Friday night, as 4,823 excited Sudbury Wolves packed into the Old Barn for the last home game for their home team before the playoffs, this one against the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Before the March 24 contest began, a pregame ceremony was held for the three players on the
Wolves who will be leaving the team at the end of the playoffs because they are overagers: Nick DeGrazia, Dylan Robinson, and goaltender Kevyn Brassard.
Nate Krawchuk took his place between the pipes for Sudbury while Matteo Drobac was in goal for Hamilton.
The Wolves put 32 shots on goal on the board while Hamilton put 22 pucks on net. The scoring didn't get started until the last few minutes of the opening period, with Nick Lardis scoring his 37th goal of the year, a shorthanded marker at 17:46 of the opening frame. Hamilton had a 1-0 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.
Just 1:31 into the second period, Evan Konyen scored his 17th of the season for the Wolves to tie the game at 1 goal apiece. Just 12 seconds later, at 1:43 of the middle frame, Kocha Delic scored his 22nd goal of the season to give the hometown Wolves a 2-1 lead.
Just halfway through the second, Nolan Collins scored his eighth of the season to give Sudbury a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
The third period was a quiet one until 15:36 into the period when Sahil Panwar scored his 30th goal of the season, pulling Hamilton within one of the Wolves, with the score being 3-2. With under two minutes remaining in the third, Sahil Panwar found the back of the net again, his second goal of the game and 31st of the season, to tie the game 3-3 and send the game into overtime, securing a point in the standings for both the Bulldogs and the Wolves.
Just 1:28 into the extra frame, David Goyette scored his 41st goal of the season to send the hometown crowd happy, giving the Sudbury Wolves a 4-3 win in overtime.
With the win, and with the Oshawa Generals defeating the Mississauga Steelheads on this night, the Sudbury Wolves have moved into 6th place in the Ontario Hockey League's Eastern Conference with a record of 30-28-6-3 with one game remaining in the regular season.
The Wolves will wrap up the regular season on Sunday, March 26 in Sault Ste. Marie, where they will take the ice against the Greyhounds before getting ready for playoff hockey. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:07 p.m.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers home games of the Sudbury Wolves and Sudbury Five for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].
