Major Bantam Wolves claw their way into third

Locked in a tight battle in a much-closer-than-usual Northern Ontario Bantam AAA Hockey League, the Sudbury Major Bantam AAA Wolves knew they needed to collect every last point, welcoming the Timmins Eagles to town last weekend for a three-game set.

Some timely scoring in the latter stages of all three games paid dividends for the local crew as the Wolves gathered five of a possible six points, sliding into third place in league standings.

In the opener Oct. 20 at the Carmichael Arena, Messier Quachegan's second goal of the game midway through the third period snapped a 3-3 tie, lifting Sudbury past Timmins 5-3.

Austin Burke, Alex Guido and Ward Kyle, with a late insurance marker on the power play, rounded out the scoring for the Wolves, with Dillan Bruce, with two, and Karter Renouf replying for the Eagles.

The visitors seemed intent on levelling the field after Day 1 later that evening, jumping out to a 3-0 lead on goals from Malcolm Lemaire, Dylan Gervais and Brendon Clavelle.

But Guido would finally find a chink in the armour of Timmins netminder Riley Bouvier, potting a power-play goal with 8:09 to play in the third. That opened the doors as Burke and Quachegan tallied in the final few minutes, giving the Wolves a single point in a 3-3 draw with the Eagles.

For his part, Bouvier finished the night with a 45-save performance between the pipes at the Timmins end of the rink.

In the series finale Oct. 21, the local crew scored five times in the second period, bouncing the Eagles 9-4 in earning their second win of the weekend.

Two-goal performances by Stephen Berardi, Kyle Liinamaa and Quachegan led the Sudbury attack, with singles coming courtesy of Brett Whitehead, Ryan Mooney and Guido.

Bruce enjoyed his second two-goal game of the weekend for Timmins, an effort that was matched by a pair of tallies from Renouf.

The Bantam AAA Wolves will now enjoy a weekend off, preparing for the Big Nickel Tournament, while the Nickel City Bantam AAA Sons play host to the North Bay Partners in Law Trappers for a three-game set in Levack.