Nathan Villeneuve scored the shootout winner as the Sudbury Wolves rallied from four goals down to defeat the Owen Sound Attack 7-6 in Ontario Hockey League action Friday night at Sudbury Community Arena.
Villeneuve also had the game-tying goal late in the second period, Sudbury’s fourth unanswered marker in a span of 5:55 that turned a 6-2 lead for the Attack in a 6-6 game.
“I think the kids in there are scratching and clawing right now. You’re never happy to give up four goals. But at the same time we got the point,” Attack Head Coach Scott Wray says. “It could have went either way. We lost another shootout. So we have to learn from it.”
Braedyn Rogers, Wesley Royston, Caden Taylor, Pierce Mbuyi, Nick Sykora and Tristan Delisle had goals for the Attack (17-13-0-3), which dropped its third straight game.
Rowan Henderson, Kieron Walton, Gavin Ewles, Daniel Berehowsky and Artem Gonchar scored for Sudbury.
The Attack led 4-2 after the first period, and looked to have blown the game open near the midway mark of the second after a pair of power play goals by Rogers and Royston on back-to-back 5-on-3 opportunities to make it 6-2.
But 57 seconds after Royston scored to put the Attack ahead by four, Henderson scored a shorthanded goal to cut the lead. And the Wolves just kept coming.
Matthew Koprowski made some big saves in the third period to keep the game level. Walton and Villeneuve broke up ice on a 2-on-1, and Walton shot. Koprowski stopped it and the rebound came into the slot towards Villeneuve, who batted the puck towards the net and Koprowski dove back to make the save.
And then in the last moments of regulation, Ethan Dean was sprung on a breakaway — but Koprowski kicked out his right pad to deny him.
Sudbury had two penalty shots in the game, and almost a third. Walton’s goal the first period came on a penalty shot awarded after Jake Crawford shot a stick on the ice towards a shooter as he set to fire the puck.
Koprowski then denied Villeneuve on a penalty shot early in the third period, keeping the game 6-6.
The near third call came in the final seconds of 3-on-3 overtime. Villeneuve streaked towards the Attack net, and was caught by a backchecker and then went down. One official initially pointed to centre ice, signalling a penalty shot would be awarded. But after a conference between the referees and linesmen, that call didn’t stand and the game proceeded to a shootout.
The Attack had four chances to win in the shootout. Taylor, Mbuyi, Delisle and Harry Nansi by Bjorn Bronas all four times Sudbury needed a save to stay alive.
Bronas made 13 saves in the win, while Koprowski stopped 36 taking the loss. Karsen Chartier started the game for the Wolves, allowing four goals on 12 shots in the first period, before Bronas entered in the second.
Sudbury outshot Owen Sound 43-27 while going 1 for 6 on the power play; the Attack finished 2 for 6, and conceded a shorthanded goal against.
Owen Sound closes out its three-game road trip Sunday afternoon against the Soo Greyhounds.