Feb 05, 2022 | Dwight Irwin | 851 views
Wolves take Game 1
The Ripley Wolves took Game 1 on Friday night with an emphatic 7-1 win.
Though the final score makes it look like the Wolves cruised to victory over the Shelburne Muskies, the game could have been much different after a series of first-period penalties that required Jason Hamilton to make some acrobatic saves in net.
Once the Wolves cleaned up their behaviour and started playing 5-on-5 hockey, the ice began tilting in their favour, and Cody Britton got them on the board late in the first, with helpers going to Garrett Meurs and Brett Catto.
From the drop of the puck in the second, the Wolves looked like the team that led the league in win percentage in the regular season, and they pumped in four goals during the frame, chasing the Shelburne starter for the third. Goal scorers were Dan Nicoloff (2), Chase Meurs, and Britton. Assists went to Adam Alexander (2), Payton Dunlop, Tyler McCarthy, Derek Skinner, Catto and Garrett Meurs.
In the third, Garrett Meurs and Hunter Robins-Gibbons scored in a 14-second blitz, with assists going to Nick Seiler, Britton and Skinner.
Hamilton lost his shut-out bid seven minutes into the third, when the game was well out of reach.
The Wolves travel to Shelburne for an 8 p.m. start on Saturday night, and return home for Game 3 on Friday, Feb. 11 at 8:30 p.m.