First year in and the local crop of 2013 AAA hockey talent does not appear the least bit overwhelmed at the prospect of facing the Ontario elite this winter.

The Sudbury U12 AAA Wolves returned from the Barrie Colts Peewee Challenge Cup last weekend with silver medals after capturing four straight outings in round robin play, squeaking through in a semi-final overtime classic before finally tasting defeat in the championship encounter.

The Wolves doubled Ottawa Myers Automotive 4-2 in game one as Reed Robichaud scored twice and Kaesen Adair and Kole Ogletree added one goal apiece in pacing the winners.

Sudbury made the most of their two-game set with the "South of the Border" contingent, stopping the Buffalo Jr Sabres 8-2 before blanking the Buffalo Regals Premier 6-0 as Tate Cunningham recorded the shutout, his team improving to 3-0.

Two goal efforts by Jack Stone and Reed Robichaud lifted the Wolves past the Jr Sabres, the pair joined on the scoresheet by teammates Carter Kuczma, Ben Sabourin, Kole Ogletree and Jase Halas.

A few more northern prospects broke through versus the Regals as Karsen Ferguson scored twice, his output matched by Jack Stone, while Ally Hebert buried her first of the weekend, with Ben Sabourin capping things off.

The nickel city squad continued to look very solid in closing out preliminary round action, outscoring the North Central Predators 4-1 on goals from Jarrett Marshall, Easton Bradley, Kaesen Adair and Kole Ogletree.

The drama of overtime wasn't enough, in and of itself, in the playoff round as Sudbury earned their ticket to the finals when Ally Hebert converted on a beautiful feed from Reed Robichaud with just four seconds remaining in OT, propelling the U12 AAA Wolves to a 3-2 win over the Halton Hurricanes.

Robichaud added a goal to his stat-line in the game, with Ben Sabourin taking care of the remaining tally.

A gold medal showdown with the Don Mills Flyers would see Sudbury come up just a little short, beaten 4-2 as Trent Morris and Kole Ogletree found the back of the net for head coach Blake Didone and company.

The Wolves goaltending tandem were huge contributors to the team success at the Challenge Cup, with Tate Cunningham registering three wins and Nate Didone chalking up a pair.

The locals limited opponents to less than two goals per game at the event, an accomplishment that could not have been achieved without the efforts of every single player on the roster, a group that also includes: Maddox Matthews, Jaxon Rocca and Coltan Walker.

The team staff features coaches Andrew Tessier, Mike Mascioli and Ben Robichaud, along with Blake Didone, as well as trainer Brendan Adair and team manager Tracy Caridade.

The Wolves will stay sharp with play in the north as the Soo Jr Greyhounds also boast a very strong crew of 2013 talent, taking two of their three head to head matchups this past weekend and sliding just ahead of Sudbury in the My Hockey Rankings, with both teams still in the top 16 (of 50) in the province.