The Nickel City Sons continue to be a thorn in the side of the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves.

While Sudbury currently holds down top spot in the Great North Midget League (GNML) with a record of 20-2-0-1, two of the team's three losses have come at the hands of the pesky Sons.

Sunday afternoon in Chelsmford, Nickel City escaped with a 4-3 win in a game that remained extremely tight through until the final five minutes, when all hell broke loose, scoring wise.

Ben St Marseille opened the scoring for the Sons early in the second period, jamming home a loose puck in tight, with Brandon Jones deadlocking the contest at one on a nifty short-handed effort later in the frame.

The Sons restored the lead, again off a scramble, as Michael Michel stuffed in what looks to perhaps hold as the game-winner, with Nickel City netminder Joel Horodziejczyk coming through with a couple of mind-boggling saves.

But the tides turned quickly over the final five minutes of play. Consider the following wild sequence of goals: Brandon Langella (Sudbury) at 15:32 - Derek Lambovitch (Nickel City) at 17:04 - Langella with his second at 19:01 - and Christopher Rossi, with the game winner for the Sons at 19:21.

The ending provided incredible entertainment value for a number of former teammates on hand to take in the contest, including current OHLers Tyler Bertuzzi of the Guelph Storm and Jacob Smith of the Kingston Frontenacs.

With the Sons scoring only four goals in their past three games and shutout in the last head to head matchup with Sudbury, head coach Joel Whissell looked at methods of sparking the offense.

"I think the one thing we had to do was get more traffic in front of the net and more shots," he said. "Except for that 6-5 shootout win, they've been 1-0 or 2-1 games, so very low scoring."

Interestingly enough, this game included elements of both tight-checking and exciting run and gun hockey, something Whissell attempted to dissect. "I think as it gets closer to the end of the third period, guys are getting a little more tense and a little more excited," he explained.

"Once the game got wide open, everybody was just flying up and down the ice. I think that was the major cause of the flurry of goals at the end." Lambovitch, a tough as nails, stay at home defenseman, will not normally find himself right in the mix of the high scoring exploits, netting just his second goal of the year in giving his team a brief lead.

With a career background in houseleague hockey in Capreol until he hooked up with the Valley East Rebels last year, Lambovitch has come a long way in a short period of time.

Needless to say, the adjustment needed to play at the "AAA" level has kicked in for rugged blueliner, including his pre-game routine. "I come to the rink early, try and be prepared for the game," he said.

"Warm-up is a real big thing for me. I used to play houseleague and I'm not used to this speed. Warm-up for my legs is a key for me," he continued. While the Sons have enjoyed some close encounters with both Sault Ste Marie and Kapuskasing as well, there is always something special on the line in facing the Wolves.

"We come out a lot stronger (against Sudbury), because it's our rivalry team," conceded Lambovitch. "These are the games we really want to win." While he doesn't expect his style of play to change substantially, Lambovitch was thankful for the opportunity to contribute offensively in the win.

"It's kind of a big deal for me," he said. "It's just my second goal of the season. I've been trying to get one through there for the whole season, and finally one gets through."

The Sons and Wolves will renew acquaintances between Christmas and New Year's, staging a home and home series at a very quiet time in the local sports calendar.

Sudbury will host the opener on Wednesday (December 28th) at 7:20 p.m. at the Countryside Arena, with the teams back in Chelsmford the next evening for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.