“Boy did we need that.”
If I had a nickel for every time those words were uttered in the minutes following the Sudbury Wolves 3-2 overtime win on Sunday at home over the Brampton Steelheads – well, you know the rest.
It wasn’t simply that this was a big win at home.
The Wolves produced that ten days ago with an 8-1 thumping of the Owen Sound Attack – which then gave way to three more losses.
This was far more about producing a solid all-around effort against a quality opponent that may not have had their “A” game, but were not a whole lot worse than “B+”.
This was a win against a Brampton team which had picked up at least a point in seven straight games – their only loss coming against the London Knights in overtime – and a team which was not just handing the Wolves a hand through their own overconfidence or nonchalance.
This was a win the Wolves had to earn – and earn it they did, reminding many of the kind of hockey the Sudbury lads played for the better part of three months before Christmas.
“That was a playoff-type game, 3-2 with only a couple of power plays each way,” noted Sudbury head coach Scott Barney. “Everybody could get into the game. I thought some guys played really well on the D side. Our D played a simple game and even our offensive players bought into playing the game the right way.”
An entertaining but scoreless opening frame gave way to an ice-breaker from Carson Rehkopf of the Steelheads, which Ondrej Molnar countered minutes later, finishing off a three-way passing play that also included Hudson Chitaroni and Alex Pharand.
Ten ticks on the clock ensued before the visitors regained the lead courtesy of Adam Zidlicky, only to see Molnar net his second tally of the game, this one on the power play, well before the end of the middle stanza.
Another scoreless period opened up the ice to three on three overtime play, with Brampton netminder Jack Ivankovic stealing a sure game-winner off the stick of Nathan Villeneuve – only to see the puck squirt out the far side to Kieron Walton who made no mistake.
“I honestly didn’t see the puck at the start,” said Walton, whose 34 goals this year have included at least a few OT winners. “Ivankovic made a great save on Villy and I thought it was going the other way. Thankfully, it came right on my stick and I was able to bury it.”
All of which made for a very rewarding post-game gathering in the Wolves dressing room, no doubt.
“They are a really good team over there,” said Walton, “I thought our D zone was great and our neutral zone was pretty good for the most part. The only chances they got was when we broke down. I thought that was a pretty good team effort.”
A very fair assessment for a team that has struggled mightily holding opponents, in recent weeks, to a number of goals that gives the Wolves even a fighting chance at victory. When you’ve allowed six goals against or more in seven of your past nine games, there really isn’t a whole lot of remedy beyond putting your head down and working even harder.
“We’ve been hard on the guys,” coach Barney conceded. “We played Friday night and we were back on the ice at nine (9:00 a.m. – Saturday morning) at Countryside. You’ve got to work through these things.”
That said, anyone expecting to witness a one hour bag-skating session at the Gerry McCrory Complex likely walked away disappointed. That is simply not the M.O. of a coaching staff which have enjoyed success at pretty much every level of the game.
“We’re not yellers and screamers,” said Barney. “I don’t think that’s motivation now days for these young athletes. We try and pick them up by showing them different things, the defensive game. Our biggest thing is teaching guys habits to be able to play at the next level.”
That messaging is not lost at all on the sixth round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets (2024) who is now within four points of doubling his offensive output from one year ago. “The coaches have really taught me this year – and I really have had the chance to work on it – is to buy into the D zone first and you will get chances in the O zone,” said Walton.
“My offensive game has always been my strength. Last year, you’re always learning but I think I was more O-zone focused and not so much of the rest of the ice. I think this year, I have been really good in all three zones.”
The snipe from Walton allowed Sudbury netminder Finn Marshall to record only his second win since the Christmas break, the other coming in a relief effort in Flint in which he faced all of six shots.
Turning aside 27 of 29 against a high-octane offense, Marshall produced his best outing since an outstanding early season run that lasted through to the middle of October.
The Wolves don’t have a ton of time to put their feet up and enjoy the fruits of their labour, back in action Wednesday night at home (Niagara Ice Dogs), followed by home on Friday and Sunday against the Oshawa Generals and Barrie Colts respectively.
