Ripley Wolves

The Ripley Wolves will play two make-up games this weekend in an effort to finish first in the North’s ‘A’ Division (fifth overall).

They travel to Elora on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. and host Saugeen Shores on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 1:30 p.m.

The Wolves are tied with the Shallow Lake Crushers for the top spot in the bottom half of the North, with a game in hand. If they finish ahead of the Crushers after this weekend’s games – Shallow Lake faces Lucknow in its only game – the Wolves will have home ice advantage through the ‘A’ playoffs, should they finish in the Top 4 of the six-team round-robin (the South Division will send Seaforth and Milverton to join Ripley, Shallow Lake, Shelburne and Lucknow).

The Top 4 of the round-robin will then move onto the ‘A’ semi-finals.

The Wolves have played three games recently, defeating Shelburne 6-1 and Shallow Lake 6-3, moving them into a tie for top-spot in the ‘A’, as well as an 8-0 loss to Durham.

Goals in the Shelburne game went to Travis VanGaver, Mark Stanley (3), David Jones and Devin Kemp. Assists went to Jeremy McQuillin (2), Nick Locking, Tyler McCarthy, Drew Davidson, Cody Britton, Paul Stewart and Kemp.

Kurt Edwards got the win in net.

Jason Reid was in net for the Wolves big win over Shallow Lake on Saturday night. Locking had two goals, while Brett Catto, VanGaver, Britton and McQuillin had singles. Assists went to Jordan Turcotte, Corey McCrae, Locking, McCarthy, VanGaver and Brian Stanley.

Also on Saturday, the Wolves inducted Marina Cameron, Pat Chatham and Jane VanSickle onto our Wall of Fame in a pre-game ceremony on Sponsor Appreciation Night. These three volunteers have been integral to the team’s success and are very deserving of the honour.

Pat Chatham, left, Jane VanSickle and Marina Cameron and inducted onto the Wolves Wall of Fame by Kevin Taylor, the President of the Wolves executive.

The Ripley Wolves will add another three names to its Wall of Fame at its final home game of the regular season, on Jan. 25.

Marina Cameron, Pat Chatham and Jane VanSickle will be honoured for their years of work and dedication when the Wolves face Shallow Lake on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 7:30 p.m.

Since the team returned to the WOAA Senior ‘A’ league in 2002, Pat and Marina have been the first smiling faces fans see when they enter the arena, rarely missing a game over the past decade. Working the gate is often a cold and thankless job, but Pat and Marina never miss a shift. Without their commitment, the Wolves executive would be constantly scrambling for volunteers, and we cannot thank them enough for their dedication to our hockey team.

Jane VanSickle was one of the original members of the Wolves executive when the team was resurrected in ’02. Jane worked diligently to recruit sponsors, convincing them the team was back in business and loaded with local talent. After dropping out of the league after a few down years, regaining the trust of our local sponsors was a daunting task, and Jane went above and beyond behind the scenes, as the roster began to fill out.

Jane also served as the Wolves’ secretary, keeping the new executive on track in its early days and helping to lay a strong foundation that the current executive still relies on today.

The final home game will also be Sponsor Appreciation Night, so we invite all of our fantastic sponsors to the rink to watch what should be a showdown for top seed in the Senior ‘A’ playoffs, which will be in a round-robin format of six teams (including two from the WOAA Senior A’s South Division). The teams will play five round-robin games, with the Top 4 advancing to seven-game semi-finals beginning in March, with the winner decided in April. Currently, the Wolves sit in second in the ‘A’ pool, trailing Shallow Lake by two points with five games to play.

After being snowed out last weekend, the Ripley Wolves will have two home games this weekend, as it looks to climb into top spot in the WOAA Senior ‘A’ Division.

The team, which will be seeded in the bottom half of the North Division and play for the ‘A’ Division title (as opposed to ‘AA’), are just two points back of Shallow Lake for the top seed in the just-announced, six-team round-robin playoff format, which will bring two teams from the WOAA’s South Division into the fold. Each team will play five games and the Top 4 teams will advance to a seven-game semi-final series, with the winners playing for the Senior ‘A’ title in April.

If the Wolves can catch Shallow Lake, they’ll have home ice advantage through the Senior A playoffs. They start on that quest this weekend when they host Shelburne at 8:30 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 17, when Saugeen Shores comes to town for a 7:30 p.m. start. Sponsors are Parrish & Heimbecker on Friday and Pollock Electric and Royal Bank Ripley on Saturday night.

Saturday is also Tyke Night so come on out and watch the stars of tomorrow between periods!

The Wolves will hold their final home game on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 7:30 p.m. vs Shallow Lake. This is Wall of Fame Night, as well as Sponsor Appreciation Night. Stay tuned for more details on this year’s inductees. The make-up game in Elora will be held the Jan. 30 weekend, with the playoff round-robin starting the first weekend in February.

The Ripley Wolves nearly upset the defending champions from Mapleton-Minto on Saturday night, settling for a point in an overtime loss.

The Wolves were tied 2-2 after the second on goals from Cody Britton and Drew Davidson, but the 81s took the lead in the third. Brett Catto tied it with just over three minutes left in the third to send the game to overtime.

Though Ripley’s goalie Jason Reid, who has resumed his Wolves career a few years after first retiring, played a great game and stopped 36 shots, the 81s scored early in the extra frame to secure the bonus point.

Assists went Catto, Davidson, Tyler McCarthy and Jeremy McQuillin.

The Wolves travel to Elora next Friday for an 8:30 p.m. start. They return home for two games on Jan. 16 and 17.