The View from Section 2, January 5, 2026

Wolves Lose Back End of Divisional Series With Battalion

By T Puck

The Sudbury Wolves made their first journey down Highway 17 E. Sunday afternoon to North Bay to take on the North Bay Battalion.

A disappointing crowd of 2,782 attended the contest.

For a team that had aspirations to climb the Eastern Conference standings, this was a must win game for Sudbury.

Jan Chovan returned from Team Slovakia to suit up on Sunday for Sudbury.

The starting goaltenders in this game were Paolo Frasca for the Wolves and Jack Lisson for the Battalion.

North Bay opened the scoring 3:45 into the contest while they were shorthanded. Carter Kunopaski made a long pass to Parker Vaughan in the Wolves left circle. Vaughan moved to the middle of the ice, and he fired a wrist shot past Frasca.

This was the only goal of the opening 20 minutes.

This was a fairly even period. The Wolves outshot North Bay 13-12. North Bay had more scoring chances, recording five chances to score in the first period while the Wolves had three scoring chances.

North Bay extended their lead only 55 seconds into the middle stanza. A long shot from the right point by Adrian Manzo deflected in off the leg of Ethan Procyszyn. Jonathan Kapageridis had the secondary assist on the goal.

Sudbury found the scoreboard at 8:41. Jan Chovan moved the puck to Liam Ladds at the right point. Ladds made a pass to Kieron Walton on the right wing. A low shot from near the left boards eluded Lisson.

North Bay restored their two-goal lead at 14:01. Parker Vaughan won a draw in the Wolves zone. Ethan Procyszyn got a touch on the puck. The puck squirted to Nick Wellenrieter in the slot, and he fired a hard wrist shot past Frasca.

North Bay dominated territorial play, outshooting the Wolves 16-9. North Bay had six chances to score, not including a non-scoring chance goal. The Wolves had five chances to score, not including a non-scoring chance goal.

Sudbury cut the North Bay lead to 3-2 at 1:23 of the third period. Jan Chovan skated down the right wing, and he moved the puck to Kieron Walton at the right point. Walton found Nathan Villeneuve in the high slot, and his wrist shot beat Jack Lisson.

North Bay restored its two-goal advantage at 7:20. Parker Vaughan moved the puck to Nick Wellenrieter in the Wolves left circle. Wellenrieter found Ethan Procyszyn in the slot. Procyszyn moved around Luca Blonda and Frasca, before firing a backhand shot into the net

North Bay completed the scoring for the day at 12:52. A shot from the upper left circle by Lirim Amidovski was stopped by Frasca, but he yielded a rebound. Ryder Cali pounced on the loose puck, and he fired a quick shot from close range past Frasca.

The North Bay Battalion took revenge on their 6-2 defeat on Friday night with a convincing 5-2 victory Sunday afternoon.

The Battalion outshot the Wolves 12-5 in the final stanza. North Bay had seven chances to score and the Wolves had two chances to score.

North Bay outshot Sudbury 40-27 in the game.

Credits and critiques

The Sudbury Wolves continued to be patsies outside of the Elgin Street barn.

When you are in eighth position in the Conference, and you want to avoid playing the top seed in the first round of the playoffs, you need to show more energy and urgency than the Sudbury Wolves did Sunday afternoon.

Paolo Frasca again faced 40 shots in goal. He played an adequate game. He did not get a great deal of help from his defence, who surrendered 18 scoring chances against.

From this corner, it looks like it is time to put up the white flag of surrender for the Sudbury Wolves. This team is life-and-death to make the playoffs. You cannot expect to make the playoffs when you win three of 16 road contests.

Frankly, the white flag should have probably come sooner then now.

The Wolves offense was anemic, generating only 10 scoring chances. Kieron Walton had one scoring chance and one-non-scoring chance goal. Nathan Villeneuve had one scoring chance and one goal. Carter Kostuch had two scoring chances. Rowan Henderson had two scoring chances. Liam Ladds had one scoring chance. Brayden Bennett had one scoring chance. Jan Chovan had two scoring chances.

The Wolves return to action Wednesday night as they travel to Sault Ste. Marie to play the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

T Puck would suggest that Bjorn Bronas is likely to get the start in goal on Wednesday evening.