Aurora Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kitchen drops ceremonial puck at historic Wolves-Colts OHL game at Zancor Centre

September 3, 2026 · 0 Comments

Aurora Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kitchen made history when he dropped the ceremonial puck at Monday night’s OHL preseason tilt between the Barrie Colts and Sudbury Wolves at the sold-out Zancor Centre in King City.

The two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach with the Chicago Blackhawks dropped the vulcanized rubber disc between Teague Vader of the Colts and Blake Clayton of the Wolves.

Clayton was voted First Star of the Game. His two-goal and one-assist performance led the Wolves to a 4-2 win over the Colts in the first OHL Major Junior game played in King Township.

Kitchen acknowledged both the historical significance of the sporting event and the quality of play on the ice.

“I feel quite honored to do the puck drop. It was nice of [Mayor] Steve [Pellegrini] and [Councillor] Dave [Boyd] to invite me to take part. It’s great to see the area growing so much to have OHL and OJHL hockey here. It’s great for the town of King City to watch this brand of hockey. To watch these players—they’re such great skaters. Their balance is already there and there are no awkward skaters on either side. This is just a preseason game, but it was spirited and fast-paced. It was a quick first period.”

The veteran NHL defenseman—who was also inducted into the King Township Sports Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural Class of 2026—expressed his appreciation at being enshrined in February and reflected on his formative Junior hockey years in King, Aurora, and Toronto.

“It was a very nice induction ceremony in the Spring and it’s a nice display here. Very honored to be in the first group of inductees. To be considered is very humbling. Very proud to be a part of it and of my hockey roots in King. I grew up here with a group of friends who were good hockey players and we moved up the ranks together. Frank and Jack Foran were terrific players—Frank could shoot equally hard from either side. My first Junior hockey team was with the Tigers in Aurora. It was not finesse hockey—it was rugged. But I got drafted by the Marlies and we won the Memorial Cup in 1975 so they’re great memories for me as a Junior hockey player.”

King Councillor Boyd, Mayor Pellegrini, and Councillor Jordan Cescolini joined Kitchen at centre ice for the historical puck drop. The entertaining contest, taken in by the biggest crowd to grace the Zancor Centre in its three-year history, was hosted by the Junior A Rebellion to promote the club’s upcoming OJHL season.

Boyd promoted the local club by sporting his Rebellion Junior A jersey—numbered #24– and the local sports advocate noted between periods that “It was great to see so many fans here at the Zancor Centre and to be able to watch tonight’s game with my family and good friends. My wife is here with my daughter Emma and son William who’s on the ice picking up pucks between periods. It’s a privilege to spend time with Mike Kitchen.”

Mayor Pellegrini wore his classic blue-bodied and white-sleeved Junior A Rebellion jacket to promote the squad and Kitchen similarly encouraged fans from across the Township to support King’s OJHL team.

“It’s great hockey—there have been players drafted into the NHL out of the league. It’s a great family outing, too – the tickets are reasonably priced, and you don’t have to travel too far from home. It’s entertaining hockey and it’s right in your own backyard. I think it’s really important to come out and support the local junior team.”

The hundreds of fans who did come out and support the Junior A Rebellion by attending the Colts-Wolves OHL tilt were treated to an entertaining game.

It was a hard-hitting affair as both clubs worked off the rust of the summer holidays. It was Sudbury’s first game of the preseason while the Colts were playing their third in four days after participating in an NCAA showcase in Barrie. Ceremonial puck drop centre Blake Clayton looked to be in mid-season form for Sudbury when he snapped the puck top right shelf past Barrie goaltender Hagan Bach to make it 1-0 for the Wolves less than six minutes into the contest.

Between the first and second frame, the U8 Rebellion rep team treated the fans to a spirited split-squad game as King’s rich hockey history was promoted by its youngest travel team.

When the OHL teams returned to the ice for the middle frame, the Wolves added to their one-goal lead.

Second period goals by Brayden Bennett and Genc Ula built a 3-0 margin for Sudbury after 40 minutes of play.

Prior to the buzzer, tempers flared with 51 seconds left in the second frame as Colts forward Phillip Shargorodsky and Cole Wreggitt’s kneeing and slashing penalties morphed into fighting majors. A range of ensuing roughing skirmishes broke out between the ill-tempered teams with three seconds on the clock as Tate Collins of the Colts and Shayden Hinterberg and Finn Kearns of the Wolves found themselves in the sin bin.

The Colts whittled away the Wolves’ three-goal lead when Sebastian Mogull got Barrie on the board at 3:46 of the third period. Ethan Anusky cut Barrie’s deficit to 3-2 when he beat Wolves goaltender Owen Leonard at 14:14.

However, Barrie’s rally fell short when Clayton notched his second of the game into an empty net milliseconds before time expired to seal Sudbury’s historic two-goal victory at the Zancor Centre.

By Jim Stewart
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter