Howls from the Great North
Sudbury U18 Wolves have emerged from the pack as the regular season champions of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League. In what was a five team race for first place among the seven members of the Great North, the U18 Wolves skated past the Timmins Majors, Soo Jr. Greyhounds, New Liskeard Cubs and North Bay Trappers.
All five teams finished above the .500 mark with the U18 Wolves posting a record of 25-8-3. Sudbury U16 Wolves and Kapuskasing Flyers finished the regular season as the sixth and seventh place teams, respectively.
Head coach Brian Dickinson and his U18 Wolves overcame some so-so play over parts of the second half of the schedule to claim first place with exclamation points. A 4-0 blanking of North Bay and a 7-1 cuffing of the Soo secured top spot for the U18 Wolves on the final weekend of the regular season.
Dickinson, a respected and respectful individual who is one of the true good guys of the game, was his usual low key self in the wake of the U18 Wolves staking claim to first place.
“It’s a long season but we’re healthy and ready for a very challenging playoff run,” Dickinson relayed to Hockey News North.
As for the playoffs, North Bay, Sudbury U16 and Kapuskasing will meet this weekend in North Bay in round robin, semi-final action. The winner from the semi-finals will join the U18 Wolves, Timmins, the Jr. Greyhounds and New Liskeard in Sudbury in a round-robin championship tournament beginning on Wednesday, March 20.