A winter storm, a broken-down bus, and a historically hard-to-beat opponent would not be enough to deny the Renfrew Wolves a pair of wins over the weekend.
Renfrew kicked off a home-and-home series with the Smiths Falls Bears on the road this past Friday, January 12th, as the two sides pushed to get their match in ahead of the major snowfall set to roll through the Ottawa Valley later that evening.
The game was in serious danger of being cancelled following the Wolves bus breaking down on route to the Smiths Falls Memorial Centre, which caused a delay of over an hour and forced the two sides to squeeze their matchup into the remaining time ahead of the storm touching down in Smiths Falls.
The Wolves would make the most of the night, beating Smiths Falls 7-4. Noah Vom Scheidt continued to make an impact in his return to the club, scoring two goals, including the game winner. Kai Billey, Ethan Smith, Austin Fellinger, Jace Letourneau, and Andrew Morton would also add tallies to the win.
Following a safe return home, it would be Renfrew’s turn to host Smiths Falls at a snowed-over myFM Centre on Saturday, January 13th.
Noah Vom Scheidt and Mathieu Paquin led the way with two goals each, as Renfrew would win 6-4 to complete the weekend sweep. Ethan Smith scored the game winner, while CCHL scoring leader Jace Letourneau would add an empty netter to seal the victory.
Goaltender Nolan Lane would get both starts for the Wolves in place of Slava Gordiechuk, earning his 4th and 5th wins of the season.
Renfrew now sits tied for the lead in the CCHL Robinson Division with Smiths Falls and is currently the sixth seed heading into the playoffs.
The Wolves will be tested this upcoming weekend with three games against some of the league’s best teams, starting with a trip to Ed Lumley Arena for a game with the Cornwall Colts on Thursday, January 18th. Listen to the action live on 96.1 myFM, starting with the pregame show at 7:20 p.m.
(written by Kasey Egan)