Greyhounds lose exhibition opener to Wolves

The exhibition season officially opened for the Soo Greyhounds on Thursday night as the Sudbury Wolves made their lone pre-season trip to the Essar Centre.

The Wolves picked up a 4-3 shootout win over the Greyhounds in front of an announced crowd of 3,394 on Thursday night.

The Wolves were playing their first exhibition game on North American soil after competing in the World Junior Club Cup, held in Russia. The Wolves beat the United States Hockey League’s Waterloo Black Hawks in the final.

The game also marked the first exhibition game of the season for the Greyhounds well.

“Some of the older guys played strong and some of the young kids played well too,” said Greyhounds coach Mike Stapleton. “There’s still some stuff we have to work on. We’ve only really had two full days of practice.”

Stapleton was pleased with the play of numerous veterans in the loss including forwards Brandon Alderson and David Broll as well as goaltender Matt Murray who stopped 31 shots in the loss. Stapleton spoke highly of some of the rookies in the lineup as well.

Wolves coach Trent Cull said fatigue was noticeable at times in the win for his club and plans to give the Wolves players some time off after their first exhibition contest on home ice against Kitchener on Friday night.

“I’ve rode the kids pretty hard,” said Cull. “We’re going to get through (Friday) and then I’m going to give the kids a day or two off. I think we are tired. We’ve had a busy time with the trip but I’m not off the gas either. I want them to make sure they’re in shape.”

The Greyhounds jumped out to a 2-0 lead through one period and led 3-1 through 40 minutes but the Wolves scored a pair of goals early in the third period to tie the game before picking up the shootout win.

Alex Morgan, Brandon Alderson and David Broll scored for the Greyhounds in the loss.

Jake Ryan and Dominik Kubalik scored the third period goals that pulled the Wolves even and set up the shootout win. Josh McFadden scored the other goal for the Wolves with a shorthanded marker midway through the second period.

Jacob Harris and Nick Baptiste had the shootout goals for the Wolves while Broll scored the lone shootout goal for the Greyhounds in the loss. Wolves goaltender Taylor Dupuis stopped 27 shots in the win for the Wolves.

The Greyhounds hit the road for their next two exhibition games. On Saturday night the Greyhounds will travel to Saginaw to take on the Spirit before taking on the Wolves in Sudbury on Sept. 14. The following night, the Greyhounds will wrap up their exhibition schedule when they host the Spirit back at the Essar Centre.

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