Ripley Wolves eliminated from playoffs; Kincardine Bulldogs also out of playoffs

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, and eliminating Ripley from the senior “A” playoffs.

March 2, the Wolves were down two games in the series when they roared back in Game 3, taking a 4-0 win.

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 goal-less drought late in the first period.

Five minutes later, Dylan Sayle 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 goalie Jason 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 the Thundercats 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 for Ripley.

In Durham March 3, for Game 4, the Wolves lost, 6-3.

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 by 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. Gerrit Satosek added one more for the Wolves, from Colling and Seiler, and the game ended in a 6-3 score.

This put the Wolves on the brink of elimination as they hosted Game 5, March 10, and lost a close one, 5-4.

The Wolves led on-and-off 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 Gerrit 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 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 Senior “A” league.

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

BULLDOGS OUT OF PLAYOFFS TOO

Meanwhile, the Fairmount Security Kincardine Junior "C" Bulldogs are also out of the playoffs, losing the series to the Walkerton Hawks, at the end of February.

Kincardine won the first two games, but lost the next four.