As part of my role as team statistician for the Sudbury Wolves, my job description includes the preparation of weekly media notes, featuring various tidbits of information regarding upcoming games.

While these notes have generally been confined to circulating among media types and club officials, it seemed likely that fans of the local OHL team might also have an interest in the odds and ends that I might come across on a weekly basis.

Given that the only two Sudbury Wolves’ game this week see them facing the Barrie Colts in both outings – again (the teams will have met six times this year before the start of December) – and that we’re all a little sick of hearing that Barrie has yet to lose to Sudbury this year, the time seemed appropriate to take a bit of a deeper dive into numbers that jump out when looking at a Wolves – Colts rivalry that dates back to October of 1995.

One interesting note about the 2024-2025 series trend is that it falls completely in line with what has been seen in the annual eight-game season series between Barrie and Sudbury dating back to the 2014-2015 season or so – which is to say that virtually each and every year, one team has held a huge advantage when it came to head to head results.

Last year, it was the Wolves as the Pack picked up points in seven of the eight matchups, losing 7-3 and 4-3 in a shootout but taking all six other meetings. That was retribution for the 2022-2023 campaign when Sudbury finished with a record of 1-5-2-0 against Barrie.

The Covid impacted 2021-2022 season featured nine battles between the teams, a little more evenly balanced than recent times as the Wolves went 3-6-0 – but again, this coming on the heels of ultimate domination. For the one and only time in the 28 annual tete a tetes, the local OHLers posted an unblemished 8-0-0-0 mark versus the Colts in 2019-2020.

The Wolves had come close in both 2016-2017 and 2010-2011, winning seven of eight – with Barrie earning their revenge from October 11th (2014) through to March 19th (2016), a stretch in which victory eluded the Nickel City lads in 16 straight games.

While there is a great deal of evenness to the bulk of the overall comparative stats between Barrie and Sudbury, that doesn’t hold true when it comes to the shootout. On eight separate occasions the penalty shot competition has been required to settle matters for these divisional rivals – with the Colts prevailing in seven of those eight skills competitions.

From 1997 to 2002, the Wolves and Colts would meet up in the playoffs no less than four times, with fans on both sides having reason to cheer (though old time Sudbury faithful folks are still embittered with the game seven 2-1 loss that brought the 1999-2000 season to a close).

The teams would meet again in 2006-2007, as Sudbury enjoyed a run for the ages. Lady Luck would look their way as the Wolves swept the Colts in four straight games that spring, three of which were decided in overtime.

Throw in relatively one-sided wins for Barrie in both 2009-2010 (4-0) and 2013-2014 (4-1), and it’s clear that fans in both cities can debate their way through memories on end.

But with the teams not meeting in post-season play again since March of 2014, one can hope for another matchup to come soon – if for no other reason than to give the next generation of OHL followers on both sides of this battle something to talk about.