No Game 7 for Ripley Wolves tonight (April 7); Minto forfeits Game 6

The Ripley Wolves are the Ontario Elite Hockey League (OEHL) North Conference champions after the Minto 81s were forced to forfeit Game 6 because they used an illegal player.

In a 14-2 vote by league general managers (GMs), the Game 6 result – a 5-2 loss for Ripley – has been overturned and the Wolves have won the North Conference championship, four games to two.

There will be no Game 7 in Ripley tonight (Tuesday, April 7).

Ripley will now face the South Conference champions, the Seaforth Centenaires, in the OEHL final. The schedule is still to be determined but is expected to start this weekend.

"While winning on an appeal is not how anyone wants to advance in the playoffs, it's important to the success of the league that GMs are held to account for their actions," said Kevin Taylor, president of the Ripley Wolves executive committee. "With a 14-2 vote to uphold the appeal, it's cut-and-dried that Minto's actions were against league rules.

"We'll now move on and prepare to bring our first OEHL title to our fans and community."