Coming off two wins in Mississauga, the Sudbury Wolves were back on home ice Monday looking to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Steelheads. Mississauga, however, had other ideas.
For the third consecutive game, the Wolves went with Jakub Vondras in goal, while Jack Ivankovic replaced the injured Ryerson Leenders in net for the Steelheads.
It only took 3:36 for the puck to find the back of the net for the first goal of the game. Chas Sharpe scored his second goal of the playoffs while on the power play for Mississauga, giving the Steelheads a very early 1-0 lead.
Despite both teams playing well and getting plenty of chances on each of the two goaltenders, Sharpe’s goal was the only goal of the first period, and the teams went into the dressing rooms for the first intermission with Mississauga leading 1-0.
Just under five minutes into the middle frame, the Steelheads extended their lead thanks to Lucas Karmiris’ second goal of the post-season, making the score 2-0 for Mississauga.
Sudbury finally scored a few minutes later, when team captain David Goyette scored on the power play for his second goal of the playoffs, making the score 2-1 for Mississauga.
With 6:50 remaining in the second period, Landon McCallum continued his scoring touch with his second goal of the playoffs to tie the game for the Wolves at 2-2.
With exactly four minutes remaining in the period, Karmiris scored his second goal of the game and third of the playoffs to once again restore Mississauga’s lead to 3-2 with one period remaining in the game.
The Wolves dominated the play in the third period, winning the period on shots by a 15-4 margin, but couldn’t unlock Ivankovic in the Steelheads’ goal. As a result, with thirty-two seconds remaining in the game and an empty net to shoot at, Porter Martone scored his first goal of the playoffs for the Steelheads to seal a 4-2 victory over the Wolves.
With Sudbury still leading the series 2-1, the Wolves look to take a 3-1 series lead when they take on the Mississauga Steelheads in Game Four of the best-of-seven tomorrow (April 3) at Sudbury Arena. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers Sudbury Wolves and Sudbury Five games for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].
