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.
From November 23rd (3-2 shootout win over Saginaw) through to December 14th (5-2 win over Kitchener), the Wolves would skate away victorious in eight straight contests, all but one of which were played on home ice.
As impressive as that was, the Pack actually bettered that mark later in the year, compiling an undefeated stretch that ran from January 24th (7-0 whitewash of North Bay) to February 13th (a book-end 5-2 win over North Bay), nine games in total.
For the record, their best ever stretch in franchise history came in the 1999-2000 season when the team reeled off 13 consecutive victories.
Prior to that loss, Sudbury had beaten Brantford/Hamilton six straight times at home and picked up at least a point in nine straight such outings. That stretch of hockey featured the wild affair on November 17th 2019 in which the visiting Bulldogs eked out an 11-10 overtime win.
Among the more ghastly stats from that game was the fact that no less than 11 goals were crammed into the second period alone, a twenty minute frame which featured goals that were nine seconds apart (Bradey Johnson – 3:01; Tag Bertuzzi – 3:10) and ten seconds apart (Avery Hayes – 8:25; Arthur Kaliyev – 8:35), that last sequence preceded by a Bertuzzi strike at 7:54.
Amazingly, the Sudbury stat-line included goals scored by nine different players, with Blake Murray netting his second of the game with 13 seconds to play to force overtime – of course.
Sudbury has emerged victorious in four of their last six visits to Peterborough, registering shutouts in two of the past three outings (4-0 – October 5th – 2023; 1-0 – October 10th – 2024). That most recent whitewash earlier this year marked the sixth time the Wolves have blanked the Petes on the road in this long and storied rivalry.
Their recent road success against the Gens was assisted in part by a 7-1 win on December 18th (2022), a contest in which a four goal performance from Kocha Delic allowed the visitors to break for Christmas with the joy of the season upon them.
