2018 TELUS Cup

VENDETTE BACKSTOPS WOLVES TO TIE WITH CANTONNIERS

MACKENZIE DEMPSTER

SUDBURY, Ont. – Alex Vendette starred in a 38-save performance, backstopping the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves to their first point at the 2018 TELUS Cup in a 2-2 tie with the Cantonniers de Magog on Thursday night.

Vendette went save-for-save for Olivier Adam over the final 39 minutes to keep the Wolves’ semifinal hopes alive with one day left in the preliminary round.

Sudbury opened up the scoring just past the three-minute mark when Alex Fowke wired a shot past Rémi Poirier off a set-up from Tommy Vlahos, but Jérémy Rainville worked his way around a pair of Wolves defenders and fed Simon Pinard for the 1-1 goal at 9:03.

The Sudbury power play restored the lead for the hosts late in the first period; Brett McGlade, Joel Mongeon and Gavin Brown went tic-tac-toe, with Brown going low on Poirier to make it a 2-1 game after 20 minutes.

Adam would replace Poirier in the Magog goal to start the second period.

Only 14 seconds into the middle frame, Pinard picked up a pass from Patrick Guay and beat Vendette with a slap shot, making it a tie game once again.

The teams went end-to-end through the final two periods, but neither could break the stalemate.

Magog finished with a 40-31 advantage in shots on goal.

The Cantonniers finish off the preliminary round Friday afternoon against the Lethbridge Hurricanes (3:30 p.m. ET), before the Wolves meet the Toronto Young Nationals in the prelim finale (7 p.m. ET).