Ripley Wolves

The Ripley Wolves put up a valiant effort but didn’t have quite enough to stop the Durham Thundercats from taking Game 5 by a 5-4 score.

The Wolves led all off and on all night but couldn’t shut down Durham long enough to put a stranglehold on the game, and, with just 3:30 left in the third, a beautiful toe drag and snipe gave Durham the lead for good.

Wolves goals were scored by Cody Britton (2), Brett Catto and Dylan Sayle, with assists going to Garrett Satosek, Brian Stanley, Jarred Colling, Catto and Alex MacLeod.

Jason Hamilton was excellent in the Wolves net, facing 36 shots in the game.

The loss concludes the one of the best years in Ripley Wolves history, with the team finishing second overall in the regular season, as they iced one of the fastest, most exciting teams in the WOAA Sr. A league.

The Ripley Wolves executive thanks the players, coaches, managers, fans and sponsors for their dedication to the team this season.

The Ripley Wolves are on the brink of elimination after suffering a 6-3 loss in Game 4 on Saturday.

The Thundercats scored three in the final half of the first period to lead 3-0 after one. The Wolves battled back in the second with goals from Patrick Weijack and Patrick Looby, with assists to Jarred Colling, Tyson Soers and Nick Seiler, to close the gap to 3-2 after two periods.

Any hopes of a comeback were quashed in the first two minutes of the third when the Cats pumped two behind Wolves goalie Jason Hamilton, stretching the lead to 5-2. Garrett Satosek would add one more for the Wolves, from Colling and Seiler, and the game ended in a 6-3 score.

Durham now leads the best-of-seven semifinal 3-1, and the Wolves will try to stave off elimination in Game 5 on Saturday, March 10, in Ripley, at 7 p.m.

Game 6, if necessary, will be Sunday, March 11, in Durham, at 1:30 p.m. Game 7 would be Tuesday, March 13, at 8:30 p.m., in Ripley, if it goes the distance.

The Ripley Wolves came out flying in Game 3 and forced their way back into their semi-final series with Durham with a 4-0 win.

The Wolves came out with a definite edge to their game that has been missing, laying many hard, clean bodychecks on the Thundercats. Jason Hamilton was between the pipes for the Wolves, looking like he did early in the season before he suffered an injury, when he was one of the league’s top goalies.

A packed house couldn’t drown out the cheers of Brent Walton and his linemates Brett Catto and Cody Britton when Walton converted on their passes, breaking the team’s two-game goalless drought late in the first period.

Five minutes later Dylan Sayles made no mistake when left all alone in front on a great rush and passing by Jarred Colling and Mike Osadca, putting the Wolves up 2-0 after the first.

The second was a back-and-forth affair with Hamilton making many nice saves as Durham tried to create havoc in front, and Britton gave the Wolves some more breathing room when he converted from Catto to put the Wolves up 3-0.

The third period was the Hamilton show once again, as Durham peppered 19 shots on net (of their 37 total) and couldn’t get one past him. Britton got his second on the powerplay late in the game, from Walton and Catto, to make the final 4-0 Ripley.

The series returns to Durham today, Saturday, March 3, at 2:30 p.m. with Durham leading the series 2-1. Game 5 will be in Ripley on Saturday, March 10, at 7 p.m.