The Shanahan Tournament served as a wonderful prequel for the Sudbury U15 AAA Wolves.

Less than a week after losing a hard fought semi-final battle in overtime to Hill Academy (4-3) in a 12-team event that featured three higher ranked opponents (provincially speaking), the AAA Wolves restored local bragging rights by claiming the championship banner on Sunday at the Big Nickel Hockey Tournament - also in overtime.

Eleven games squeezed into a 10-day stretch is a whole lot of hockey, even for a group of 14 year olds who live and breathe the sport on a daily basis. “Playing so much hockey takes its toll on the body and you need to recover,” acknowledged forward and associate captain Jackson Mead, chatting just after a “stations” practice on Monday.

“It’s fun, but you need the recovery for sure.”

Just from an emotional standpoint, one could understand the lads under the watch of head coach Gerry Dupuis and staff needing a bit of a reset as they launched into a couple of weeks devoted to workouts in anticipation of a three game road trip versus OMHA teams followed by the VK Classic (tournament) from December 5th to the 8th.

Posting a round robin record of 2-2 at the Shanahan two weeks ago, the Sudbury reps picked up a key 3-1 quarter-final win over the York Simcoe Express before being eliminated in a tight battle with Hill, the same team that drubbed them 5-0 in their preliminary game.

Beginning last Thursday, the Wolves took advantage of some lower ranked teams in their pool to quickly get firing on all cylinders offensively, opening Big Nickel play with an 8-0 whitewashing of Okanagan Hockey Academy as Dacey Dupuis paced the attack with a hat trick while Jackson Mead chipped in with three helpers.

That said, the grade nine student at St Benedict Catholic Secondary School sees his pivotal roles as so much more than just a playmaker. “I like to get the boys going; I like to do the speeches,” said the talkative teen. “I like to get the energy going. On the ice, I like to bang bodies, do whatever I can do out there to help my team.”

The Wolves did not need a whole lot of extra help in game two, bouncing the Timmins Majors 9-0 as Mead exploded with a four-goal effort while Warner Bain was the three-assist producer this time around. From there, things got more interesting as Sudbury edged the Soo Jr Greyhounds 4-3 and closed out round robin play with a 6-4 win over the Eastern Ontario Wild.

It was that same Brockville-based crew that the U15 AAA Wolves would meet in the final, spotting the Wild a 1-0 lead before pulling even in the third on a goal from Owen Angus.

Moving on to a three on three session for the second time in as many weeks, the SMHA entry were rewarded on the second shift of OT as Nicholas Christakos weaved his way through Eastern Ontario territory, going back against the grain with a snipe for the game-winning goal.

“We’re a pretty strong OT team,” said Mead. “When we lost to Hill last week, that was our first OT loss in a while. We really couldn’t buy a goal until the third (versus the Wild), but we had a lot of possession, a lot of shots. I thought we had a pretty good game.”

Making the jump from “AA” hockey to his first year with the “AAA” Wolves this season, versatile forward Merik Maillet is quickly getting up to speed, figuratively and literally, at this higher level of play.

“The game is so much faster and they move the puck more,” said the first year student at Ecole secondaire Champlain in Chelmsford. “But the coaches are always there to help.”

Furthermore, Maillet is a big fan of the adaptability that coach Dupuis likes to see in his players, requiring his young talent to constantly think on the fly. “He likes to try new things which is always good, likes to give us different opportunities together,” said Maillet.

“Personally, I really like it. There are always different options, different teammates to work with.”

All in all, a very good squad in the eyes on a team leader who has been part of the mix since day one.

“This team is like a big family,” said Mead. “We’re a good team; we play good hockey.”

The balance of the 2024-2025 roster of the Sudbury U15 AAA Wolves features Ty Belanger, Jaxsin Chatwell, Ethan Farquarson, Bradley Huffman, Ty Imbeau, Malik Jakubo, Tucker Newton, Cooper Niquet, Alex Proulx, Nicholas Rocca, Tayden Smith and Ryan Thompson.