Wolves channel Blueberry Bulldogs, beat Knights in OT on Shoresy Night
Add one good thing to another good thing, and the result is rarely anything but great.
The Sudbury Wolves and the London Knights took to the ice at Sudbury Arena on Friday, Oct. 30 and played their way into overtime before the Wolves won by a hair, 4-3.
Vladimir Provorov snatched up a loose puck on the left side of the London zone and rocketed it into the net for the winner at 2:44 of overtime.
The Knights and Wolves went into the game tied for the second-best points percentage in the OHL. They put on a show that featured end-to-end rushes, lead changes and more than a few massive stops from goaltenders Aleksei Medvedev of London and Paolo Frasca of Sudbury.
Frasca entered the game with the league’s best save percentage, and he showed why in the first period by turning aside all 14 Knights shots.
Sudbury also owns a top-three power play. It went to work late in the opening period and paid off, with Mason Walker putting the Wolves up 1-0.
Sudbury stretched the lead to 2-0 on a backhand from Ottawa Senators prospect Adam Nemec in tight to the London net.
Nothing seemed to be getting past Frasca at that point, so Knights forward Marcus Nordmark used the goal line as a guide. He skated seemingly harmlessly into the Wolves zone along the left-side boards and into the corner, then snapped a puck along the goal line, off Frasca and in. That made it 2-1 with 1:47 left in the second.
London pressed on a late power play. With just 0.4 seconds showing on the clock, Thomas Zocco found a loose puck in a scramble in front of the Sudbury net and lifted it in to tie the game 2-2.
Jaxon Cover mirrored his night in North Bay, scoring a go-ahead goal at 11:56 of the third to put the Knights up 3-2.
Cover had scored with 1:01 left against the Battalion and just like a night earlier against the Battalion, the home team found a way to tie it.
With 1:37 left and the Sudbury goalie on the bench for an extra attacker, Walker went hard to the net, and Luca Blonda found him for the equalizer.
Neither team generated much in overtime until Provorov’s winner sent Sudbury home with the extra point on “Shoresy Night.”
The TV series “Shoresy” is filmed in Sudbury, with much of it shot at Sudbury Arena. The Wolves wore Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs uniforms and honoured cast members before the opening faceoff.
Zocco finished with a goal and an assist and was named the game’s second star. Nordmark also had a goal and an assist.
London outshot Sudbury 34-27. The Knights went 2-for-3 on the power play, while the Wolves went 1-for-3.