Sudbury Wolves vs Sarnia Sting - December 6, 2025
The View from Section 2, December 6, 2025
Wolves Defeat Sting in Close Contest
By T Puck
The Sudbury Wolves began a four-game homestand Friday night, as they welcomed the Sarnia Sting at the Elgin Street barn.
The Wolves were decimated with illness Friday night, and as a result, a number of Tier 2 call ups were summoned for duty on Friday night. Chase Coughlan and Brayden Bennett were out with illness. Liam Ladds and Hudson Chitaroni remain out with long-term injuries. Parker Smith was serving the final game of his three-game suspension. The Wolve callups were Bohdi Ryan and Nathan Walker, both of whom have had cups of coffee with the Wolves in the past. Rookie Kingston Harris made his OHL debut Friday night.
The Wolves lineup was bolstered with the return of defenceman Trevor O’Dell and forward Nathan Villeneuve to the lineup.
The starting goaltenders in the contest were Patrick Quinlan for the Sting and Karsen Chartier for the Wolves.
The opening 20 minutes produced a rare no-event period providing no goals and no penalties.
Sarnia outshot Sudbury 12-6 in the first period.
The Sting had the balance of the play, with eight scoring chances. Chartier made some nice saves to keep the game scoreless for the Wolve. The Wolves had five scoring chances.
Sarnia broke the scoreless deadlock 76 seconds into the second stanza. Beckham Edwards took a shot that was stopped by Chartier. Edwards outhustled Gavin Ewles and Luca Blonda for the rebound in front of the Sudbury net, and his quick shot from the slot beat Chartier. Mitch Young and Ethan Walos recorded assist on the goal.
The Wolves equalized proceedings on the power play at 9:43. A cross-ice pass by Kieron Walton found Nathan Villeneuve in the right circle. A one-time shot by Villeneuve beat Quinlan. Daniel Berehowsky had the secondary assist on the goal.
Sarnia outshot Sudbury 12-8 in the second period. The Wolves had five chances to score and Sting had nine chances to score.
Who would forge ahead in the all important third period?
The Wolves took the lead at 6:47. Nathan Villeneuve moved the park from near the right point to Jan Chovan in the Sarnia slot. Chovan relayed the pot to Kieron Walton in the right circle. Walton made some nice moves to get around two Sarnia defenders, and with the help of Chovan, who smartly went to the front of the net to occupy another Sarnia defender, Walton swooped around the traffic in front, and he swept the puck past Quinlan, culminating a nice individual effort.
Sudbury ran into some penalty trouble in the 12th and 13th minute of the third period. Infractions to Vladimir Provorov and Nathan Villeneuve gave the Sting a two-man advantage for 27 seconds. The Wolves penalty killers rose to the occasion, and aided by some good stops by Chartier, Sudbury turned away the Sarnia power play.
The game remained a tight struggle to the end.
Sarnia removed Quinlan for an extra attacker with 1:45 to play.
In the final minute, Rowan Henderson showed determination to free himself from a Sarnia player in the neutral zone, and he outmuscled a Sarnia defender deep in the Sarnia zone, before he tipped the puck into the Sarnia goal at 19:29. Nathan Villeneuve was credited with the only assist on the goal.
The crowd of 3,917 went home happy, as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the Sarnia Sting 3-1 in a hard-fought contest.
Sarnia outshot Sudbury 11-9 in the third period. Sarnia had seven chances to score and the Wolves had six chances to score.
The Sting outshot the Wolves 35-24 in the contest.
Credits and critiques
The Sudbury Wolves earned the victory Friday night, but it was far from a masterpiece.
The matchup between the 19th-ranked and 18th-ranked teams in the OHL, both projected draft lottery teams at the end of the season, lived up to its advanced billing. There were long stretches of unwatchable hockey in this contest. Both teams struggled offensively, and the Wolves were fortunate that the Sting were inept in front of the Sudbury goal.
Karsen Chartier had a very good game for the Wolves, stopping 34 of 35 shots and 23 of 24 scoring chances. Chartier was named the first star of the contest.
Kieron Walton was named the second star of the contest, after recording a goal and an assist on Friday night. His goal, the winning goal in the game, was a great individual moment, in a game that lacked quality.
Wolves’ fans can see the difference that Nathan Villeneuve makes to the Sudbury Wolves lineup when he plays. Villeneuve is still slowed by an upper-body injury, but nothing less than a broken leg, or an injury where he would need to be stretchered off the ice, will keep this warrior out of the lineup. He had three assists in the game. He also provides compete and grit that is a commodity in short supply on the roster.
The Wolves Scoring Chance Board Friday night was as follows:
Kieron Walton-three scoring chances, one goal.
Nathan Villeneuve-three scoring chances, one goal.
Rowan Henderson-three scoring chances, one goal.
Daniel Berehowsky-three scoring chances.
Gavin Ewles-one scoring chance.
Luca Blonda-one scoring chance.
Ethan Dean-one scoring chance.
The Wolves return to action Sunday afternoon, as they play host to the OHL 20th-ranked Oshawa Generals.
T Puck has no idea whom Coach Scott Barney will call upon to start in goal, but the smart money appears to be on Karsen Chartier to get the start on Sunday.
