Surging Wolves gain ground on league leaders

The Sudbury Minor Midget AA Wolves are playing some very good hockey right now.

Coming off an impressive performance at the International Silver Stick in Newmarket in mid-January, the local crew renewed their season-long rivalry with the Copper Cliff Redmen on Sunday afternoon at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.

Taking advantage of a depleted Redmen roster (it's exam time so a handful of players didn't dress for the game), the Wolves registered a 5-1 win, pulling to within four points of the first place Copper Cliff crew.

Already up 1-0 in the first period courtesy of a goal from Brady Maltais, the SMHA squad doubled their advantage on the power-play, with Brandon Lacey pulling the trigger.

The homeside kept rolling along in the second, as Liam Punkari gained the zone with speed and was hauled down, with referee Derik Gratton signalling the infraction. But before the Redmen could gain possession, Nick Graham pounced, banking a shot off the goaltender and in.

The Wolves increased the margin to four goals, as Maltais redirected a point shot from Josh Piché, before the teams traded goals over the final frame.

"Every time we've played Copper Cliff, we've played them on the smaller pad," said Wolves' head coach Doug McEwen.

"This is the first time we've played them on the big ice, and we took advantage of that. I would assume that the next time we play them on the big ice, they'll be even more prepared for us."

The victory marked the first time in regular season play that Sudbury managed to get the better of Copper Cliff, with both teams looking to meet up again in the Nickel District Minor Hockey League midget division final in March.

There is little doubt, however, that the Minor Midget AA Wolves are surging. The team were the fortunate recipients of an "at large" invitation to compete at the International Silver Stick, after dropping a 4-2 decision to the gold-medal winning Barrie Colts at Regionals in Sudbury in December.

They certainly made the most of the opportunity, advancing to the semi-finals in Newmarket before being eliminated.

"To be appreciated and recognized as a pretty good team, and given the invite, was an honour," said McEwen.

"We knew that we had nothing to lose and everything to gain."

The Minor Midget Wolves kicked things off by playing to a 1-1 draw with the Haverford (Pennsylvania) Hawks, as Brandon Lacey scored a third period goal to even things up.

Gaining momentum, the SMHA representatives doubled the Foothills (Alberta) Flyers 4-2, as Nick Graham, Parker Savard, Julien Tubin and Alexander Barry all found the mark for the Wolves.

The Minor Midget AA Wolves saw their record evened at 1-1-1 following a 5-2 loss to the Ted Reeve Thunder of Toronto, as Barry and Tubin handled the scoring for coach McEwen and company.

The team got back on the winning track as Savard registered a goal and two assists, leading Sudbury past the Newmarket Redmen 4-2. Jaymes Green, P.J. Nykilchuk and Graham joined Savard on the scoresheet for the winners, as the team advanced to the evening quarter-finals.

Goaltender Allisa Hitchen pitched a shutout, while Savard supplied all of the offence as the Minor Wolves advanced with a 2-0 whitewashing of the Warwick (Pennsylvania) Wildcats.

Unfortunately, a second match-up with the Ted Reeve Thunder produced no better results, as the GTHL minor midgets eliminated Sudbury 3-0.

"We played a really good team in Warwick, and played them well," said McEwen.

"But we didn't get back to the hotel until around midnight, and played again at 10:00 the next morning, and I think we just ran out of gas a little bit."