The Sudbury U14 AAA Wolves were already one of the best teams in the province in their age group prior to the start of the OHL Cup in Kingston last week.
Their performance there only reinforced that standing - in a very big way.
The NOHL champions trailed only the Vaughan Kings and Toronto Jr Canadiens in My Hockey Rankings heading into the 16-team competition - and then opened play with a near flawless performance in blanking TJC 4-0 in their first pool game.
Backstopped by a shutout performance between the pipes from Max Barros and with Greyson MacKenzie, Padraig Courtney, Myles Talbot and Diesel Berehowsky handling the offense, the team quickly served notice that they were legitimate contenders to what amounted to an All-Ontario AAA hockey crown.
Sailing on cloud nine, the Wolves bolted out to a 4-0 first period lead over the Hamilton Steel in game two, polishing off their opponents 7-1 in the end as Padraig Courtney recorded a hat trick and Samuel Frappier chipped in with two goals of his own. Solo tallied came courtesy of Diesel Berehowsky and Greyson MacKenzie.
The challenge of remaining on that high was evident in game three as Sudbury took on the winless Waterloo Wolves, eking out a 2-1 win on goals from Samuel Frappier and Diesel Berehowsky.
Back to business in quarter-final play as the Wolves ride a 3-0 first period lead to a 4-1 triumph over the Northwest Explorers. Greyson MacKenzie, son of former Wolves head coach Derek MacKenzie and committed to Shattuck St Mary’s Hockey Centre of Excellence next year paced the attack with a two goal effort, with Preston Hebert and André Beaudry adding one each.
The end of the line would come in the semi-finals but not before an absolutely classic match-up as Vince Tarini scored the only goal of the third period, for the Wolves, sending Sudbury and Vaughan off to overtime tied at 3-3.
Grady Riley would net the GWG for the Kings, who went on to capture the tournament with a 7-2 win over the Toronto Marlboros. Samuel Frappier netted the first two Sudbury goals in the semis, while Philip Madonna countered with a pair and Ethan Andri with a solo tally for Vaughan.
“Our defensemen made strong first passes and our forwards supported the play well, leading to quality scoring chances,” suggested forward Padraig Courtney in email correspondence this week. “Our compete level helped us stay in games and push through tough moments,” added the fleet-footed winger who has been an integral member of this team for several years now.
While it is next to impossible to judge in any kind of empirical sense, it is almost a given that every single Sudbury AAA hockey team, even one as talented as this, will not match the talent for talent skill-sets of the GTA based teams that can draw from a population base that dwarfs that of the nickel city - and northern Ontario, for that matter.
Still, there are ways to level the playing field.
“I think what truly sets us apart is the effort and consistency the players bring every single day,” said Courtney. “Every player on this team is willing to put in the hard work - not just during games, but in practice and training. We take pride in doing the little things right: winning puck battles, finishing checks and back checking hard.”
“That consistent effort gives us an edge, especially in tight, high level games.”
“Long hours of fast practices and following the system put in place by the coaching staff really helped us,” added teammate André Beaudry. “The team was really energized after our first game against the Jr Canadiens. They were ranked second in Ontario and we had never beaten them all year.”
Rounding out the 2024-2025 Sudbury U14 AAA Wolves roster were Carson Barr, Linden Bertoli, Brayden Bouillon, Jonathan Croome, Dustin Primeau, Van Sakellaris, Cameron Swartz, Connor Wainio and call-up Ethan Caetano, who stepped in with blueliner Primeau sidelined with an injury.
The team staff featured head coach Erik Hebert, assistant coaches Joey Talbot, Ken MacKenzie and Kristy Hebert as well as trainer Brad Croome and manager Erin Tarini.
