The Ripley Wolves fell 6-4 (empty netter) in Petrolia on Friday night to lose their opening round Sr. AA playoff series four games to one.
Goals were scored by Cody Britton, Dan Nicoloff, Brian Stanley and Matt Mah. Assists went to Stanley, Mah, Nicoloff, Dylan Sayle, Tyler Soehner and Ryan Dudgeon.
Kurt Edwards was excellent in the Wolves net, stopping 39 of 44 shots.
The Wolves battled a very good Squires team right to the end, and will remember this series as one where a couple of bounces could have made it a six- or seven-game series. It will also be remembered for an unbelievable seven-goal outburst on home ice in Game 2 after being down 6-0 midway through the second period, in an eventual 7-6 win.
The Wolves made huge strides this season, finishing sixth in the league and making the Sr. AA playoffs for the first time since the playoffs were restructured into AA (top four/eight teams, depending on the season) and A (lower-ranked teams) divisions.
The Wolves executive must thank the players, coaches, management and trainers for their dedication to the team this season. They give up countless hours and every weekend during the long season, and we can’t thank them enough for their hard work. Our long list of local sponsors also deserve much appreciation, as we could not operate this organization without their assistance. Please support those who support Senior hockey in our community!
Thank you also to our fans for supporting the team in 2016/17, and we look forward to seeing you at the rink again in October!