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Wolves defeat Colts 4-3 in exhibition play

Sudbury Wolves veteran defenceman Jeff Corbett liked the fact the team didn’t give up.
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Sudbury Wolves forward Jacob Harris beats Barrie defenceman C.J. Garcia to the puck. Photo by Scott Haddow.
Sudbury Wolves veteran defenceman Jeff Corbett liked the fact the team didn’t give up. They went the other way and fought back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to defeat the visiting Barrie Colts 4-3 in shoot-out at Sudbury Community Arena Friday night during exhibition play.

Down by two goals late in the final period, the Wolves' youngsters rose up and proved their worth as rookies Devon Paliani and Ivan Kashtanov scored huge power play goals to tie the game and send it into the shoot-out.

Corbett sees the bar set now for the team to be a relentless team for 2014-15, especially with the rookies and new faces going full-tilt and showing they can handle the play in the league.

“I think we’ve found out identity. We worked hard and it definitely showed in the third period when we bounced back,” Corbett said. “We were down 3-1 and to see young guys persevere like that, it shows our team is going to have a lot of heart this year. I think we established we’re going to be a hard-working team. If we keep working like that ... we are going to be a good team.”

It was anything but good for Sudbury in the first period. An early penalty zapped away momentum and Barrie cashed in first when C.J. Garcia scored to make it 1-0. Barrie continued to push the pace in the period, but Sudbury goalie Troy Timpano stood tall in net and made 12 saves, including several from in close.

The second period saw play get a bit nasty as both teams battled for ice space. There were numerous scrums after whistles and plenty of hacking, slashing and shoving. Sudbury’s Brody Silk squared off with Barrie’s Jonathan Laser at one point, with both combatants throwing only a few scattered punches before being broken up. It gave Barrie life as they scored quickly after when Garrett Hooey put the puck in the net to make it 2-0.

The Wolves needed an answer and they got it from forward Jacob Harris. He took a defensive zone pass from Corbett and took off like a bullet on a mission. Harris raced into the offensive zone and tucked a hard shot into the net to make it 2-1 for Barrie.

Early in the third, Barrie took the 3-1 lead thanks to a goal by Hooey. The Wolves caught a break and earned a four-minute power play, allowing Paliani and Kashtanov to do their damage and tie the game.

In the shoot-out, Barrie’s Hooey came out first and scored. Harris replied with a goal. Barrie’s second shooter was Justin Scott and his attempt was snuffed out by Timpano. Kashtanov scored Sudbury’s second shoot-out goal. Timpano then shut the door on Barrie’s final shooter, Givani Smith, to seal up the victory.

“The guys played hard,” Sudbury head coach Paul Fixter said. “I asked them tonight to play hard, and in the end, they all did. I’m happy with the performance we are getting from all the guys.”

It is only an exhibition win and doesn’t count in regular season standings, but the win did mean plenty to the Wolves.

“We really pulled together and had a great team game tonight,” Harris said. “It gives us so much confidence ... it carries over to the regular season.”

Game notes


The Wolves scratched Ray Huether, Jonathan Masters, Nick Baptiste, Pavel Jenys and Matt Schmalz.
The Colts scratched Joseph Blandisi, Kevin Labanc, Brendan Lemieux, Cordell James and Andrew Mangiapane.
Sudbury went three-for-six on the power play. Barrie was 0-4 on the power play.

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