The Sudbury Minor Bantam AAA Wolves received their first taste of competition for 2012-2013, with new head coach Derek Erickson fully aware of the work that remains to be done.

The Wolves looked solid, despite dropping two close games to open the tournament, but struggled towards the tail end, finishing with a record of 0-4 at the Niagara Falls Rivermen Early Bird Tournament.

Backstopped by the strong goaltending of Mitchel Cleaver, Sudbury dropped a 2-0 decision to the host team as the Rivermen netted a pair of second-period goals.

The locals enjoyed their only lead of the two-day event later on Friday as Alex Yeomans opened the scoring against the Markham Waxers, taking a pass from Hunter Lammi and breaking the ice in the middle stanza.

The Waxers roared back, pulling even in the final minute of period two and scoring the game-winning goal with just 5:17 remaining as the Wolves dropped to 0-2.

It was a tougher go on Saturday, as by the admission of the Sudbury coaching staff, the "boys did not play as well as the first two games — and Grey Bruce played very well."

The combination resulted in a 7-0 loss at the hands of the Grey Bruce Highlanders, with the Wolves closing with a 5-1 loss to the Central Ontario Wolves.

The team lost the services of defenceman Tanner Webkamigad late in the tournament when the rugged blueliner fell awkwardly, suffering a fracture to his ankle. He is expected to be back in six weeks or so. Meanwhile, his teammates kick off league play this coming weekend in Timmins, with Félix Coté making his return from injury after missing the opening tournament due to an injury sustained in the summer.

Meanwhile in Toronto, both the Nickel City Minor Bantam Sons and the Sudbury Major Bantam Wolves took part in the 31st Annual Jack Harper Early Bird Red Wings Tournament, with the teams managing just one win between them.

That came courtesy of the Sons fourth game, with the locals besting the Halton Hurricanes 5-3 after falling to the Barrie Colts (5-1), Don Mills Flyers (8-4) and Vaughan Kings (3-1).

The Sudbury Major Bantams also had a tough time finding the win column, coming out on the wrong end against the York Simcoe Express (4-2), Brampton 45's (5-1), Mississauga Senators (4-0) and Mississauga Rebels (5-0).