A two-goal performance from Jan Chovan and stellar goaltending by Paolo Frasca propelled the Sudbury Wolves past the Brampton Steelheads Friday night, earning them a critical win
The Sudbury Wolves successfully beat the Brampton Steelheads 4-1 at home Feb. 13, securing a key victory toward the final playoff spot in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.***
Heading into the game at the Sudbury Community Arena between the Brampton Steelheads and the Sudbury Wolves, Sudbury held a three point lead over Brampton for the final playoff spot in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.
With the 4-1 win, the Sudbury Wolves increased their lead over Brampton to five points, and their overall record to 21 wins, 30 regulation losses and two overtime losses on the season.
Between the pipes for Brampton was Luke Johnson; Paolo Frasca got the start for the Sudbury Wolves.
The Wolves opened the scoring late in the first period as Brayden Bennett’s third goal of the season made it past the Steelheads after he received a drop pass from Chase Coughlin, assisted by Joey Brehmer. The only goal of the middle frame occurred just over thirty seconds into the period, when Coughlan scored his 13th goal of the season. A slap shot to the left of Johnson, with the assist of Adam Nemec and Gavin Ewles, increased Sudbury’s lead to 2-0 heading into the third and final period of play.
With 10:35 remaining in the game, Jan Chovan scored his 16th goal of the season after picking up his own rebound, with the lone assist going to Nemec, making the score 3-0 for the Sudbury Wolves.
Exactly one minute later, the Steelheads’ Mason Roy scored his second goal of the season with a rebound that came after a failed attempt to clear the puck out of the Sudbury Wolves’ defensive zone. With the assist going to Matej Stankoven, the goal ended the shutout bid for Sudbury, now at 3-1 over Brampton.
With 33 seconds left in the game, Sudbury’s Chovan scored on the empty net for his second goal of the game, assisted by Blake Clayton and Nemec, sealing an impressive 4-1 victory for the Wolves.
Nickel City netminder Frasca made 29 saves on 30 shots to earn First-Star honours in the game.
The Sudbury Wolves next take the ice on Family Day, Monday, February 16 at the Sudbury Community Arena, facing off against the Niagara IceDogs, with puck drop scheduled for 2 p.m.
***An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the Sudbury Wolves have clinched a playoff spot.
Super fan Robert McCarthy covers Sudbury Wolves and Sudbury Five games for Sudbury.com. Got a question for Robert? Email it to [email protected].