Making their way back home to northern Ontario on Thanksgiving Sunday, the Sudbury Wolves were undoubtedly ready to give thanks to the end of a gruelling stretch of hockey that opened the 2025-2026 campaign.

It goes beyond simply the fact that five of their first seven games were on the road – and seven of their first nine.

In compiling a record of 0-6-1-0 out of the gate, the Wolves faced teams that currently boast a combined record of 27-12-2-2, with a third of their games to date against a pair of opponents ranked second and third in the entire country.

In doubling the Erie Otters 6-3 on Saturday night in Pennsylvania, the Wolves knocked off the very first adversary they faced who found themselves more than one game below the .500 mark.

Sure, it’s fair to point out that the local juniors went one for three over the long weekend, bounced around for a second straight time by the Brantford Bulldogs (6-0 loss – albeit in a game in which shots on goal were deadlocked at 31-31) and then splitting the Saturday / Sunday tandem with the win over Erie and a tough 4-3 loss to the Niagara Ice Dogs.

With just one game on the slate in the 12 days leading up to the encounter in Brantford, coach Scott Barney and company had loads of time to work through very specific elements of their game in practice, with the second year coach cautiously optimistic with some of what he saw in games two and three this weekend.

“I really starts with the older guys, hunting pucks, capitalizing on a few power plays (the Wolves netted two PP goals in each of their last two games), getting saves when we needed,” said Barney. “I thought our “D” simplified the game, just moving pucks north, not complicating it – and our forwards were winning wall battles and getting more guys inside the game, instead of on the outside.”

On Saturday, the Wolves rode two-goal performances by Kieron Walton and Chase Coughlan to the 6-3 score-line, with linemates Rowan Henderson and Blake Clayton rounding out the scoring while Owen Leonard picked up the win between the pipes, finishing with 22 saves.

Just 18 hours later, Jan Chovan, Hudson Chitaroni and Kieron Walton found the back of the net for the Pack, the team deadlocked in a 3-3 affair midway through period three before top-end NHL prospect Ryan Roobroeck lifted the home side to victory, scoring with just under ten minutes remaining.

The tallies by both Chovan and Walton in this contest came on the man advantage, as Barney looks to some fundamental beliefs merged with the talent at his disposal to create a PP unit that can be effective.

“There are characteristics of a power play that should always happen, no matter what,” he said. “But I think the biggest thing is that you have to out-word your opponent – and you have to retrieve pucks.”

“Some guys are meant for the flanks; some guys are meant for the bumper; some guys are meant for the front of net,” Barney added. “You’ve got to get guys to different areas and develop some chemistry. You can pass the puck around all you want but you need to get pucks to the net and you need bodies heading to the net.”

“Those are big things for me if you want to have success on the power play.”

With just three points to show for their first nine games, the Wolves still have some work ahead to battle back into a solid playoff position. But is is early and the team trails the eighth place Peterborough Petes by all of four points. The three teams above them in the Central Division (Brampton, North Bay and Barrie) are all sitting with eight points.

Most importantly, Barney knows that he has a team that still believes.

“It can be tough,” he said. “Guys get in a slump and start fighting the puck, they grab their sticks a little tighter, they feel the pressure. But one thing I have seen through this is that we have a group that does not point fingers at each other. They play for each other.”

They will have a chance to do exactly that once again next weekend as the Sudbury Wolves and Soo Greyhounds enjoy a home and home set, starting on Friday night in the nickel city as the locals play host to the 6-4-0-0 Lock City crew.