Flames but no Fireworks
Brampton, ON – The Brampton Steelheads fell 6-5 in an overtime thriller with the Sudbury Wolves. A hat trick and assist from Kocha Delic lead the way for Sudbury.
Two minutes in the Sudbury Wolves had the first dangerous chance of the game when Rowan Henderson broke in on a 2-on-1 with Chase Coughlan. Henderson saucered a pass to Coughlan who cut the backhand, but he was unable to tuck it past Anthony Paolini.
The Wolves headed to an early power play when Angus MacDonell was called for a check to the head. The deadly Sudbury man advantage made no mistake, connecting for the icebreaker. Kieron Walton sent a cross-ice pass for Kocha Delic. The overager dusted it off before wiring a shot past Paolini to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.
The Central Division rivals showed no love lost, as they traded penalties in a scrum.
Fresh out of the box, Gabe Chiarot floated a perfect pass for Angus MacDonell to skate into. The Dallas Stars prospect broke in on a breakaway where he snuck one five-hole on Finn Marshall to tie the game at 1-1.
With five minutes to play the Wolves came inches from regaining the lead. Rowan Henderson slipped his way behind the Brampton defence, and broke in alone on the Steelheads net. Anthony Paolini did not give up anything for Henderson to shoot at, as he forced the Sudbury winger to miss wide.
The Trout headed to the power play at the start of the second period, but it was the Wolves who found the score sheet. After a puck bounced to the blue line, Nathan Villeneuve poked it over the stick of Spencer Sova and broke toward the Steelheads’ goal. The Seattle Kraken prospect cut back and dropped to Ethan Dean who joined the play. The centerman wired it top shelf to give Sudbury a 2-1 lead.
Just minutes after the Dean marker, the Steelheads found an answer. Angus MacDonell snuck his way behind the Wolves’ defence for a second time, where he received a breakout feed from Luke Misa. MacDonell flew in on goal before cutting to the backhand for his second goal of the game. MacDonell’s equalizer brought a pair of milestones for the Trout. Luke Misa tallied his 200th OHL point on the play, while MacDonell recorded his 100th point as a Steelhead.
After the Steelheads tied the game, Sudbury pressed for a third lead of the game. First, it was Gavin Ewles who joined a rush to fire a shot on goal, but it was swallowed up by Paolini. Then, Hudson Chitaroni’s shot slipped through Paolini and to the goal line, but the Steelheads’ netminder reached back to pull it from the line.
Just before the halfway point in the frame, the Wolves’ pressure found a crack in the Steelheads’ defence. Trevor O’Dell jumped in from the point and wired a shot on goal. Kocha Delic, who was parked in the slot, got a stick on O’Dell’s shot, deflecting it to the top shelf. The overagers’ second of the afternoon gave Sudbury a 3-2 lead.
The Wolves were done yet though, as just two minutes later they added another on the power play. Just six seconds into the man advantage, Nick DeAngelis slid a pass to Kieron Walton. The Winnipeg Jets prospect unleashed a blast by Paolini to double the Sudbury lead.
Brampton looked to mount a comeback as they headed to the power play. Just seconds after the Wolves penalty expired, Parker Von Richter blocked not one, but two clearing attempts to keep it in the Sudbury zone. The offensive defender found Aidan Lane on the wing who slung a feed to the backdoor. Kieran Witkowski pounced on the Lane feed, one-timing it through a sliding Marshall to cut the Wolves’ lead in half.
It took less than a minute for the Trout to complete the comeback. Graeme McAuley and William Eggleton worked a cycle around the Sudbury zone before Eggleton dropped a pass to Jared Harding. The rookie defender cut to the slot and wired a shot past Marshall. Harding’s first OHL goal tied the game at 4-4.
After the Steelheads took an early penalty, they headed to a prolonged power play of their own when Nathan Villeneuve was called for a hook and unsportsmanlike conduct for arguing the call. The Trout did not let the opportunity go to waste, as they scored just ten seconds into the power play. Angus MacDonnell carried the puck over the blue line before dropping a pass for Spencer Sova. The overage defender loaded and roofed it upstairs to give Brampton their first lead of the afternoon at 5-4.
The ice opened up when we headed to 4-on-4 for the fourth time of the afternoon. Sudbury had the first chance when Alex Pharand threw it on goal through traffic, but Paolini got a shoulder on it. Then, Luke Misa cut down the boards and to the net where he chipped one into a sprawled Marshall.
When Gabe Chiarot was called for a trip, the Wolves headed to another power play. The Sudbury power play connected again. Alex Pharand sent a pass to the point Kieron Walton who quickly sent it to the goal line where Kocha Delic one-timed it home. Delic’s hat trick goal tied the game at 5-5.
Sixty minutes was not enough to solve this one, as we needed overtime to determine a victor. Just 26 seconds in, the Wolves thought they found the winner when Nick DeAngelis banged home Nathan Villeneuve’s rebound, but after a lengthy review, it was called off for goaltender interference.
The call did not discourage the Wolves though, as they scored with just over a minute remaining in overtime. Kieron Walton flew in on a 2-on-1 with Nick DeAngelis where he fired a shot on goal. Paolini made the save but it bounced off the leg of Chase Lefebvre and into the Steelheads’ goal to win it for the Sudbury.
The Steelheads are back in action tomorrow when they travel to Kingston to face the Frontenacs. You can catch all the road action by tuning in to watch.chl.ca or listening on Sauga960.
