Major Bantam Wolves fall to Timmins Eagles

The Sudbury Major Bantam AAA Wolves entered weekend play with roughly half as many points as the Timmins Eagles, but the gap appeared far closer as the teams engaged in an entertaining three-game set in Sudbury.

Icing one of the better lineups that the Eagles have seen in several years, the visitors opened with a 3-1 win, scoring a pair of third-period power-play goals to put away the Wolves.

Evan Kentish-Stack, Chad Denault and Danny Katic netted markers for Timmins, with Gregory Trudeau-Paquet spoiling the shutout bid of netminder Jimmy Carleton, finding the back of the net with just 2:10 to play in the game.

The teams were even more evenly matched in Game 2, playing to a 3-3 draw as both squads scored twice in the second and once in the third. Trudeau-Paquet was joined on the scoresheet by Braedan Tulini and defenceman Philip Barry for the homeside, while Katic scored twice for Timmins, with Stewart Parnell rounding out the offence.

In the series finale, Kentish-Stack recorded a short-handed goal early in the second period, lifting the Eagles to a 2-1 win over the Wolves. Lucas Dolanjski opened the scoring, burying a loose puck with just eight seconds remaining in the opening frame as the visitors finally managed to solve Sudbury goalie Mitchel Cleaver with their 18th shot of the period.

After Kentish-Stack increased the lead to 2-0, Sudbury countered with the man advantage, with Tulini banging home a rebound in a crowd. Despite firing 25 of their 27 shots on goal over the final two frames, the Wolves could not pull even with the Eagles.

It was a very similar story for the Sudbury Minor Bantam AAA Wolves in Sault Ste. Marie, as coach Barry McCrory and company were swept by the Greyhounds in a three-game set.

The Wolves fell by scores of 4-3, 5-4 and 4-2 as the Sooites vaulted past the locals in league standings. Northern Ontario AAA Hockey League play will resume on Jan. 4 and 5 as the Sudbury Major Bantams host the Sault for three games at Carmichael Arena, while the Nickel City Major Peewee Sons welcome the Soo Peewee Greyhounds to Levack on the same weekend.