The adrenaline and excitement of an OHL home opener is often unmatched, especially when a large number of the participants are taking to the ice for the very first time in a regular season game in the Ontario Hockey League.
The Sudbury Wolves had no less than five players doing so Friday night against the Peterborough Petes, with a handful of those plus others on hand likely to give you to at least six absentees who are expected to be significant contributors to the 2026-2027 campaign - and were not in the opening night roster*.
(*Artem Gonchar, Adam Nemec, Jan Chovan, Finn Kearns, JC Lemieux and Hudson Chitaroni all did not dress last night)
In the end, this relatively light on experience version of the Wolves managed to get the job done, edging the Petes 2-1 as the team rode every bit of the emotion of a large crowd and the energy of youth to victory.
Sudbury highlights included a pretty goal in tight from rookie and blockbuster trade acquisition Tanner Adams, who opened the scoring in the first period, a shorthanded tally from veteran Rowan Henderson as he converted on a second clear-cut breakaway of the game with his team down a man and an outstanding performance between the pipes from Paolo Frasca.
With 19 year-old Bjorn Bronas and 17 year-old Owen Leonard still with the team as well, the overage puck-stopper from Toronto made a case for him to join Gonchar as the only two 2006-born players on the roster this year, with Frasca turning aside 28 of the 29 shots that he faced, making several big saves late as Sudbury was under siege.
Thankfully, the team had played well enough to stake out their 2-0 lead through two periods of play, holding the Petes at bay until early in the third when James McMurray jammed home a puck in tight.
Outshot 12-5 in the final twenty minutes of play, the Wolves still managed to take the SOG battle on this night, outgunning the Petes 31-26 as the locals emerged triumphant in their home opener for the first time in three years.
Coach Scott Barney and company hope to keep the momentum going as they hit the road for their first game as visitors this year, taking on the Barrie Colts tonight (Saturday) at the Sadlon Arena at 7:30 p.m.
