The Soo Jr. Greyhounds capped off the regular season portion of the NOJHL schedule Monday night just the way they wanted to, with a victory on home ice.
The Jr. Hounds spoiled a strong effort from Sudbury Northern Wolves forwards Matt Restoule and Brian McGarry who combined for 9 points on the strength of 4 goals in an 8-6 loss at the hands of the Jr. Hounds.
The Northern Wolves opened the scoring early in the game as Matt Restoule scored his first of 3 goals on the night less than a minute into the opening period. Matt Leszcynki scored at 8:55 to give the Northern Wolves a 2-goal cushion and Restoule scored again at 10:09 to put the Jr. Hounds in a deep hole. The 3-goal deficit was cut to just one as Sam Colizza and Luke Stellmach scored 31 seconds apart at 15:47 and 16:18 to cut the deficit.
In the second period the Jr. Hounds wasted no time getting back on even terms as Kelly Thompson took a cross-ice feed from Joey Coccimiglio and beat Northern Wolves goaltender Danny Battochio to get the game back on even terms. Just over three minutes later Restoule scored his third goal of the night to put the Wolves back on top 4-3.The Jr. Hounds took their first lead of the night when Jeff Rainville put home a feed from Coccimiglio on a shorthanded two-on-one and Matt West beats Battochio to give the Jr. Hounds a 5-4 lead but Brian McGarry scored to tie the game with under two minutes left in the period and send the game into the third tied at 5 apiece.
In the third the Jr. Hounds proved too much for the northern Wolves as Matt Brunet, Matt Hall and Kelly Thompson al scored within a span of just over two minutes to all but seal the victory. The Northern Wolves did make the game closer as Jesse Graham scored at 14:15 to cut the deficit to two goals but it was a case of too little, too late as the Jr. Hounds held on for the 8-6 win.
Shane Bellini stopped 37 of 43 shots in the win while Danny Battochio stopped 31 in the loss. The Jr. Hounds now await the opening games of the playoffs that will take place Saturday and Sunday evenings when the Abitibi Eskimos are in town. Saturday's game is a 7:30 start time at Memorial Gardens while Sunday's game will being at 6 p.m. and will be at the John Rhodes Community Centre.