Just three days after pulling off a blockbuster trade with the Windsor Spitfires, the Sudbury Wolves took one on the chin when they paid a visit to Sault Ste. Marie to take on the Soo Greyhounds last night.
New player Adam Nemec, fresh off an impressive showing for Team Slovakia at the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championships, which took place in Minnesota.
Bjorn Bronas got the start in goal for the Sudbury Wolves while Noah Tegelaar was the starting goaltender for the Soo Greyhounds.
Under five minutes into the game, Quinn McKenzie scored his 15th goal of the season with a shot from the left of Bronas, with the assists going to Marco Mignosa and Callum Croskery, giving the Hounds an early 1-0 lead.
Just under three minutes later, Chase Reid entered the Wolves zone and fired a slap shot that hit the post then rebounded into the net for his 15th of the season, with the lone assist going to Christopher Brown, extending the Soo’s lead to 2-0.
At the 9:32 mark of the opening period, Lukas Fischer took a slapshot from the point and made its way past Bronas through a screen, with Mignosa and Chase Reid picking up the season, giving the Greyhounds insurance and a 3-0 lead.
After the third goal, Wolves’ Head Coach Scott Barney pulled Bronas for backup goaltender Karsen Chartier.
With 6:17 remaining in the first, Christopher Brown deked his way past several Wolves’ defenders and scored his goal of the season, with Mignosa and Travis Hayes getting the assists, capping off a disastrous period for the Sudbury Wolves, who found themselves trailing the Greyhounds 4-0 after just the first period of play.
Less than a minute into the second period, one of the newest Sudbury Wolves, Jean-Christoph Lemieux, scored his 11th goal of the season, and his first in a Sudbury Wolves uniform, when he redirected a point shot that hit the post then went in, with the assists going to Gavin Ewles and Artem Gonchar, making the score 4-1 for the Soo Greyhounds.
At the 12:22 mark of the middle frame, Mignosa made a nice move then put a backhand shot behind Chartier for his 15th goal of the season, assisted by Lukas Fischer, making the score 5-1 for the Wolves heading into the third and final period of the hockey game.
At the 4:29 mark of the third, with Reid for the Greyhounds serving a two-minute minor penalty for slashing, Nemec scored on the ensuing power play, the first goal of his Ontario Hockey League career and his first goal in a Sudbury Wolves uniform. Nemec took a cross-ice pass from Gonchar, assisted by Artem Gonchar and Jean-Christoph Lemieux, and found the back of the net, making the score 5-2 for Sault Ste. Marie.
Brady Smith for the Greyhounds scored on the empty net for his seventh goal of the season, an unassisted goal with just 46 left to play in the game, to seal a 6-2 victory for the Greyhounds over the Sudbury Wolves.
The Pack travel back home on Friday, Jan. 9, for a game at Sudbury Community Arena against the Niagara IceDogs, with puck drop scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers Sudbury Wolves and Sudbury Five games for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].