Wolves defeat Milverton in five games; now face Durham

The Ripley Wolves will hold home-ice advantage against the Durham Thundercats in the WOAA Senior “A” semi-finals, after closing out their series with Milverton, Saturday night, with a 6-3 win.

The Wolves came out flying in front of a huge crowd, jumping to a 2-0 lead within the first four minutes. Cody Britton buried his first of three, followed by Dylan Sayle. Assists on Britton’s goal went to Brent Walton and Brett Catto, while Jarred Colling and Gerrit Satosek helped out on the second.

Milverton got one back late in the first against goalie Kurt Edwards, but Satosek restored the two-goal lead early in the second on the powerplay, from Catto and Tyler Soehner. Britton followed that just two minutes later with his second, from Walton.

The Four Wheel Drives pulled within two, midway through the second, on a fluke goal that saw Edwards come out of his net to play the puck, but his pass found its way into his empty cage. It was no harm, no foul, though, as the Wolves stymied the Milverton attack from then on with all four lines relentlessly pressuring the Drives.

In the third, Catto gave the Wolves a two-goal cushion when he somehow found daylight between the goalie and the post, from Britton and Walton, and the final nail in the coffin came from Britton, who completed a gorgeous tic-tac-toe passing play – from Catto and Walton – with six minutes left on the clock, to end the wildly-entertaining series in five games.

The Wolves will now host the Durham Thundercats in Round 2. Games are set to begin this weekend, though the schedule is still to be determined. Check the Wolves website at https://ripleywolves.com/ or updates or follow them on Twitter @RipleyWolves or on Facebook.