For the first time in 35 years, the Sudbury Wolves home opener would go to overtime.

Unfortunately, the team was not in the mood to celebrate history as the second goal of the game from Ryder Cali lifted the visiting North Bay Battalion to a 4-3 win Friday night at the Sudbury Arena.

The evening could not have started a whole lot better for the Wolves as 2025 first round pick Brayden Bennett netted the very first goal of the new campaign, all while 16 year-old starting netminder Owen Leonard was turning aside a dozen shots, the Wolves taking a 1-0 lead to the room after twenty minutes of play.

Things opened up in the middle stanza with the teams trading two goals apiece, Sudbury strikes coming courtesy of Chase Coughlan and Hudson Chitaroni while North Bay answered with Ryder Cali and Ryder Carey.

The Battalion forced overtime near the midway mark of the final frame as Arseny Pronin banked a shot off goaltender Leonard from a tough angle, but only after the young puck-stopper had made several key saves in keeping his team ahead in a game in which they were outshot 32-17.

The Wolves close out opening weekend on the road, facing the Niagara Ice Dogs Sunday in St Catharines.

For the record, the Wolves last home opener that went to overtime finished in a tie as Sudbury and the Windsor Spitfires played to a 5-5 draw on September 22nd (1989).

Ironically, the same two teams also went to overtime in the Wolves home opener the previous year, though Sudbury would prevail in that contest by a final score of 4-3.