Climbing the Ladder
Sudbury, ON – The Brampton Steelheads stayed hot tonight with their third straight victory overpowering the Sudbury Wolves 7-3. With the win the Trout leapfrogged Sudbury in the standings.
The Steelheads came out flying, as it took just under three minutes for the Trout to find the back of the net. After Adam Zidlicky broke the blue line, Jakub Fibigr picked up the puck and drove down the right wing. The Czech defenceman found a hole in the Sudbury defence, as he sent a shot-pass to the slot for Troy Patton. The rookie got a piece to deflect the puck into the top shelf. Patton’s fourth of the season gave Brampton a 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, the Steelheads doubled their lead. It started down low with some strong work from Mason Zebeski behind the Sudbury goal, as he forced a turnover. The Oakville native connected with fellow Oakville native Luke Misa who was sitting wide open in front of the goal. Misa made no mistake, roofing the puck to the top shelf.
After the Misa marker, the teams exchanged power plays. First, Brampton went to the man advantage when the Wolves were called for delay of game. The Steelheads pressured, but they were unable to add to the lead.
Next, it was Sudbury’s turn when Troy Patton was penalized for a slash that negated a high-quality chance. The Wolves’ power play got set up, but they were only able to muster two shots on Jack Ivankovic.
Finally, the Steelheads returned to the power play when Sudbury was called for a second delay of game. The Trout pushed hard with four shots on the man advantage, but they were unable to break through.
Shortly after the power play expired, the Trout found their way back onto the scoresheet. When Sudbury attempted to clear the zone, two members from each side whacked at the puck. The combination of sticks colliding sent the puck flying in the air. When it landed it took a big hop over the stick of Henry Mews before being picked up by Vilmer Alriksson. The big Swede cut from the forehand to the backhand to bury it past Nate Krawchuk.
The action picked back up in the final minute. The Wolves came inches from scoring when Nathan Villeneuve received a pass in front of the net, but he was denied by Jack Ivankovic. The Steelheads brought it down the other way when Finn Harding broke into the Sudbury zone. Harding tried to find Porter Martone in front, but his pass was deflected. That did not stop the Steelheads’ captain who batted the puck out of the air into the top corner. Martone’s baseball skills gave Brampton a 4-0 lead.
After the Wolves were called for a penalty in the final minute of the first, the Trout started the second period on the power play, but they were unable to capitalize.
Four minutes in, Sudbury got on the board. The puck found its way to the blue line where Henry Mews stepped into a blast. The Calgary Flames prospect’s shot rang off the post, but it bounced right to Nathan Villeneuve at the left dot. Villeneuve wasted no time, firing a shot on goal before Ivankovic could adjust over.
Shortly after the halfway point in the period, the action picked up when Stevie Leskovar was assessed a five-minute major. The Wolves added another on the man advantage when Donovan McCoy’s point shot was deflected by Jack Ziliotto in the slot. The rookie’s deflection slowed the puck before it reached Ivankovic, allowing Tayjon Street to jam it five-hole on the disoriented Ivankovic.
A minute later, the Steelheads responded back with a shorthanded goal to regain the three-goal lead. Kieran Witkowski flew down the ice on breakaway where he was hauled down by Donovan McCoy resulting in a penalty shot. Witkowski coasted in from the right side before snapping a shot blocker side on Finn Marshall.
The three-goal lead was short-lived though, as just 20 seconds later Sudbury answered right back. Still on the power play, Nick DeAngelis threw a shot on goal from the point. The overager’s shot hit traffic in front before it dropped to Villeneuve in the slot. The Seattle Kraken prospect brought it from the backhand to the forehand before roofing it upstairs to make it 5-3 Brampton.
The third period started with a near miss from Sudbury who came inches from making it a one-goal game. After the puck bounced over Jakub Fibigr’s stick, Nick DeAngelis threw a shot on goal from the point. The rebound kicked out to Alex Pharand on the left side, but his one-timer sailed wide of the open net.
Later in the frame, the Steelheads nearly regained the three-goal lead for a second time. Carson Rehkopf found a streaking Porter Martone on his way to the Sudbury goal. The puck bounced off his stick and back to Carson Rehkopf on the left side. The Seattle Kraken prospect had a wide-open net, but a Wolves defender got a stick on it to keep it out.
Sudbury pressed for a comeback in the final five minutes, but their pressure was halted by a holding penalty. The Steelheads put things out of reach with a power play goal on the ensuing man advantage. Porter Martone threw a spin-o-rama pass towards the front of the net where Angus MacDonell got a stick on it to send it to Carson Rehkopf. The Kraken prospect would not be denied this time, as he slid one five-hole on Marshall to give Brampton a 6-3 lead.
Just thirty seconds later, the Steelheads added a final cherry on top. After Luke Misa threw the puck around the boards, Vilmer Alriksson picked it up in the corner. The Vancouver Canucks drove to the middle of the ice where he rifled a shot past the blocker of Marshall to bring us to a final score of 7-3.
The Steelheads are back in action tomorrow night when they travel to North Bay. You can watch all Steelheads away games by purchasing CHL TV, accessible on the CHL mobile app, in addition to Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire, and online at watch.chl.ca.
