The Sudbury Bantam "AAA" Wolves will enjoy life atop the NOBHL (Northern Ontario Bantam "AAA" Hockey League) standings, at least for a few weeks.

Starting their 2011-2012 campaign a few weeks in advance of the traditional NOBHL Showcase Weekend, the Wolves swept a pair of games from the North Bay Bantam "AAA" Trappers.

The results from the two-game set will be enough to ensure that Sudbury holds down first place in the northern loop until all five teams gather in Sault Ste Marie from September 16th to 18th for a complete round robin weekend of games.

The Wolves opened with a 5-4 win, building a 5-2 lead and holding on as the Trappers scored twice in the final 3:13 to make things interesting. Actually, Sudbury managed to keep things interesting all on their own, picking up 16 minor penalties compared to just two for the visitors.

Owen Fransen and Eric Paquette paced the attack with two goals apiece for the winners, with Ryan Mooney rounding out the scoring. Michael Silveri countered with a pair of power play goals to lead the way for North Bay, with Jeffry Jordan and Devyn Martel netting one goal apiece.

Sudbury also got the jump in game two, bolting to a 3-0 lead and securing a 5-2 win as the teams completed their Labour Day doubleheader at the Carmichael Arena.

Mooney, Fransen and Alex Savard all scored for the homeside by the 12 minute mark of period one, with Fransen and Bradley Sutton adding second period goals, lifting the Wolves to victory.

Jordan and Gianni Chaput, with a pretty individual effort, handled the scoring for North Bay as the Trappers were outshot 28-26. "I thought we played pretty good, considering we were just coming off training camp tryouts and we're working on some stuff," said Sudbury head coach Mike Mooney.

"We've got some new faces and they're trying to learn our system, but otherwise, I felt the effort was there," he added. Both the Wolves and the Trappers head south next weekend, joining the Soo Thunder at the Toronto Red Wings Early Bird AAA Tournament.

Coach Mooney has some straight-forward words of advice as his team prepares to face some of the elite of Bantam AAA hockey across the province. "Just go out there, work hard and don't be intimidated by the southern Ontario teams."

Sudbury captain Eric Paquette, a mainstay within the SMHA 1997 core group for a few years now, is pleased with the outlook for his team right now. "This year, we've got some new players joining us and we've got some guys who have gotten bigger and stronger," he said.

"Our coaches have done a good job and we're working hard for them." After spending plenty of time on the penalty kill in their season opener, Paquette was happy to see a little more discipline in the rematch just a few hours later.

"The first game, we had too many penalties, so we had to clean that up," he said. "We did a little bit better this game, did a pretty good job with that and came away with two wins."

The Bantam Wolves will be back at home on September 24th and 25th, hosting North Bay, once again, this time for a three-game set.