As part of my role as team statistician for the Sudbury Wolves, my job description includes the preparation of weekly media notes, featuring various tidbits of information regarding upcoming games.

While these notes have generally been confined to circulating among media types and club officials, it seemed likely that fans of the local OHL team might also have an interest in the odds and ends that I might come across on a weekly basis.

Yes, it is true that the last time that Sudbury and North Bay met in the OHL playoffs was back in the second round of 1991-1992 post-season play – but as astute and long-time OHL fans will attest, that Centennials franchise is now sitting State-side in the form of the Saginaw Spirit.

So far as much as any clash of the Highway 17 hockey variety evokes a great deal of emotion within the Sudbury faithful, the truth is that the upcoming second round OHL series actually marks the fourth time that the Wolves and Battalion have gone toe to toe with their season on the line – albeit the first time where the locals need only travel to North Bay and not to Brampton.

Sure, the Brampton Battalion held home ice advantage in the first round 2004-2005 playoff battle – but with both teams finishing the season with 77 points apiece, there was precious little to choose between the Wolves and head coach Mike Foligno and the Stan Butler led crew.

The tone was set early in terms of just how close this series would be as Kevin Baker scored at 8:37 of the first overtime frame, giving Sudbury a 3-2 game one win after Jonathan D’Aversa and Wojtek Wolski traded off two goal efforts earlier in the contest.

Sudbury victories by scores of 4-1 and 2-1 sandwiched around a game three Brampton win (4-3) still left the northern crew in fairly good shape, even following a 4-2 road loss in game five. The Wolves nearly took care of business at home in regulation time in game six, up 4-3 when Danny McDonald forced another extra time game to be played, deadlocking the contest at 18:50 of the third.

Still, the Pack bounced back, sending a frenzied crowd home happy when Benoit Pouliot lit the lamp early in the fifth period of the game.

In the spring of 2012, the Wolves (5th – 78 pts) and Battalion (4th – 82 pts) once again would meet up in what should have been another tooth and nail battle. ‘Twas not to be this time around for the Wolves who dropped four straight games, with only a 4-3 double overtime game four loss being of the particularly close variety.

The sting of that loss apparently reverberated in the Wolves dressing room a year later as Brampton (4th place – 77 pts) and Sudbury (5th place – 70 pts) would renew post-season acquaintances again thanks to their middle of the standings placement (you couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried).

It was looking like deja-vu all over again following a 4-1 Battalion win at home to start the series – but that was the last time the Troops would taste victory. Sudbury scored three times in the opening 5:41 of game two (Charlie Dodero, Michael Kantor, Nicholas Baptiste) but still needed the only goal of period three from Dominik Kahun to even the series at 1-1 with a 5-4 victory.

A 3-1 win on home ice set the stage for a key game four battle in Sudbury, with the Wolves jumping out to a 4-1 lead – only to see the Battalion force overtime with a pair of goals in the final five minutes of play. This, however, was a resilient Sudbury bunch as Dominik Kubalik settled matters at 14:35 of overtime.

Scoring was far less prevalent in game five as Franky Palazzese (35 saves – Sudbury) and Jake Smith (21 saves – Brampton) kept the game scoreless through 66:22 of play before Wolves defenceman Evan de Haan propelled his team to a second round matchup with the Belleville Bulls.