Ripley Wolves trail Seaforth, 2-0, in OEHL final

The Ripley Wolves had a hard time breaking through a wall of Seaforth defence on the weekend, losing the first two games of the best-of-seven Ontario Elite Hockey League (OEHL) championship.

Ripley couldn't get much going Friday night in Game 1 and most times they threatened, Seaforth's defence managed to get a body, skate or stick on the attempt, resulting in a 3-0 win for the road team.



A capacity crowd watches as Cody Britton (centre) of the Ripley Wolves tries to move the puck beyond the Seaforth defenders, in Game 1 of the series, Friday night, at the Ripley Arena; photos by Geoffrey Dadson

Wolves goalie Jason Hamilton was solid in net, stopping 26 of 29 shots, while Ripley was credited with 34 shots on Centenaires goalie Alex Hutcheson, though the Wolves most dangerous chances often resulted in a blocked shot.



Ethan Skinner (left) of the Wolves lines up a pass in the Friday night game



Trend Houghton (left) of the Wolves moves the puck past the fallen Seaforth defender



Gerrit Satosek (centre) of the Wolves faces off against a Seaforth forward at Friday night's game

Saturday night in Seaforth, the Wolves had a lot more pep than in Game 1 and held 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but once again couldn't take advantage of their powerplays, giving up the winning goal with just under eight minutes remaining, in a 3-2 loss.

Wolves goals were scored by Cody Britton and Garrett Meurs, with assists going to Jeff Alcombrack and Jordan Moulton.

Hamilton stopped 32 of 35 shots in the loss.

Ripley now trails the best-of-seven championship final, 2-0, and will look to get on the right side of the scoreboard, Saturday night in Ripley, at 7 p.m. Game 4 goes Sunday, April 19, at 6:30 p.m., in Seaforth.