Swimming Upstream
Sudbury, ON – The Steelheads mounted a third-period comeback, but the Wolves prevailed in overtime.
The Wolves wasted no time, as they scored on their first shot of the game. After Lucas Karmiris was called for boarding in the first minute, Sudbury headed to the man advantage. Kocha Delic faked a shot before sliding a pass to Nathan Villeneuve on the backdoor. The Seattle Kraken prospect one-timed Delic’s feed home to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.
The penalties continued, this time for Sudbury, as the Wolves were called for three infractions in just three minutes. The Steelheads nearly found the equalizer on the first power play. Jack Van Volsen hovered on the goal line where he received a pass from Luke Misa. Van Volsen quickly sent a cross-crease feed for Lucas Karmiris, but Nate Krawchuk slid across to make the save.
Shortly after the power plays expired, Gabriel Chiarot came inches from tying the game. The power forward came down the right wing and wired a shot on goal. Chiarot’s wrister beat Krawchuk, but it could not beat the post, and the puck bounced back underneath the Sudbury netminder.
The Steelheads finished the frame outshooting the Wolves 10-5, but they could not find the equalizer.
The second period started in a similar fashion, as Sudbury headed to the power play just over a minute in. On the man advantage, Kieron Walton walked in from the blue line and fired a shot to the backdoor. Chase Coughlan, who was parked in front, tapped home Walton’s feed to double the lead.
The pattern continued, as the Steelheads headed to the power play yet again after the Wolves’ marker. However, it was Sudbury who would strike first shorthanded. Rowan Henderson glided over the blueline before he sniped a shot to the top left corner to extend the Wolves lead to 3-0.
The Steelheads’ power play did not quit though, as they got on the board with just over 30 seconds left in the man advantage. After the Trout won a battle on the board, they worked it to the blue line. Alexander Stephen faked a shot before sliding the puck to his defence partner Parker Von Richter. PVR hammered Stephen’s feed on goal, where it soared through a screened Krawchuk to cut the lead to 3-1.
Sudbury responded with some quality chances, but Jacob Gibbons came up with a pair of massive saves. First, when Kieron Walton slid a cross-crease feed to Alex Pharand, Gibbons dove across to deny the veteran of a wide-open net. Then, rookie defender Luca Blonda raced around the Trout zone before he attempted a Michigan, but again Gibbons was there to keep it out.
The Wolves thought they added another goal at the end of the frame, but it was wiped off the board as a result of being offside.
Sudbury had a glorious chance at the start of the third period. Kieron Walton received a pass on the left wing side, but the speedy power forward wired a shot wide of the goal.
The Steelheads clawed back before the midway point in the game. After Parker Von Richter kept the puck in at the blue, it deflected off Luke Misa’s stick back towards the point. Alexander Stephen jumped into the play and unleashed a heatseeker on goal. The rookie’s blast soared through traffic, beating Krawshuk for his first goal in the OHL.
It took only two minutes after Stephen’s goal for the Trout to tie the game. Brampton found themselves on the man advantage after Hudson Chitaroni was called for a board. Luke Misa cycled the puck around the boards where it was picked up by Lucas Karmiris. The Brantford native found Jack Van Volsen in the slot who roofed it on Krawchuk to even the score at 3-3.
The Steelheads were not done yet, as they would take the lead just three minutes later. Chase Lefebvre found Kieran Witkowski on the backdoor. Witkowski was denied, but he did not give up on the play as he wrapped around the net and slung a pass to the slot. Gabriel Chiarot one-timed the feed into the back of the net to give the Steelheads their first lead of the night.
With just under five minutes to play, Sudbury would find their equalizer. Alex Pharand sent a feed from the boards into the middle of the ice. A streaking Kocha Delic caught his feed and rifled it by Gibbons to tie the game at 4-4.
Neither side was able to break the draw, so we headed to overtime.
In the extra frame, Finn Harding was called for a hold which sent the Wolves to the power play. Sudbury worked the puck around the Trout zone, where Nick DeAngelis found Kieron Walton who blasted a one-timer by Gibbons to give the Wolves the overtime win.
The Steelheads are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Oshawa to face the Generals.
