Wolf Tracks: Former Wolves playoff star excited to see where this goes
Barrie Moore recalls last meeting between Sudbury, North Bay teams in OHL playoffs
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A series 32 years in the making kicks off at North Bay Memorial Gardens on Thursday night, as the Wolves and Battalion launch their best-of-seven OHL Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series.
While the old Centennials franchise now resides in Saginaw, a Sudbury versus North Bay series isn’t really about the logo on the front of the jersey. The two Northern cities are, of course, each other’s closest rivals and whether fans remember the last playoff matchup from 1992 or are experiencing a Highway 17 series for the first time, the emotions are likely to be the same.
One Sudburian who remembers it well is Barrie Moore, a talented winger originally from the London area, who was a fresh-faced rookie in the 1992 playoffs.
“That is crazy, 32 years, it just makes me feel even older,” Moore laughed when reached this week after returning home from his shift as a Greater Sudbury firefighter. “But I mean, it’s great for the city. It was a great rivalry when I played, my four years in Sudbury. We beat Oshawa in Game 7 in 1992 and then had to play North Bay and they were so big and tough and mean.”
The Centennials eliminated the Wolves in four straight in that second-round series, but it was the first round that somewhat defined the season for the Wolves. The 1980s were a decade to forget for the organization, so beating the Generals represented their first playoff series win in 12 years.
“I think it was huge for the city,” Moore said of that series that ended in front of a packed house at Sudbury Community Arena. “It was like we won the Stanley Cup and it was only one series. I think we were down 3-1 in that series, too, and came back and won Game 7 in overtime, so the city was just buzzing.
“It was a lot of fun. I still remember the game winning goal — Terry Chitaroni.”
Now 48 years old and working part time as a Northern scout for the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs when he’s not keeping the city safe, Moore recalls that ’92 Wolves team being deep like the current one, with the likes of Jamie Matthews, Glen Murray, Derek Armstrong, Brandon Convery, Jason Young, Chitaroni and the Rivers brothers, Shawn and Jamie.
General manager Sam McMaster traded emerging star Mike Peca to Ottawa for veteran goaltender Mike Lenarduzzi, who helped Sudbury end their long playoff drought.
It obviously didn’t go well in the next round, losing four straight to a Centennials team that ended up going all the way to the OHL final, falling in Game 7 to the Soo Greyhounds.
“In sports, they say even keel, so maybe we were a little too high after beating Oshawa, because the series against North Bay didn’t last long.”
The team that swept them was a textbook Bert Templeton club.
“Yeah, it was, totally,” recalled Moore, referring to a North Bay defence corps that featured current Wolves defence consultant Drake Berehowsky, tough guy Dennis Bonvie and big Brad Brown. “My four years, they had a mean, tough team every year. I was only, I think, 160 pounds as a 16-year-old rookie.
“Berehowsky and Bonvie … it could be a little intimidating at times. They also had good players like John Spoltore and Jason Firth and were a well-rounded team, for sure. They could score, they had some skill, but they also had that toughness and that was just Bert’s way.”
If the regular-season series in 2023-24 is any indication, the Wolves and Battalion could serve up a whale of a playoff set. Sudbury had a 4-4 record head to head with its Highway 17 rival and North Bay also won four and lost four. However, three of the Wolves’ wins were in OT or a shootout, so the Battalion’s record against Sudbury was 4-1-2-1.
Moore had a long pro career in various leagues, including 39 NHL games, mostly in a Buffalo Sabres uniform — the team that drafted him in the ninth round in 1993. He was an excellent OHL rookie, putting up 15 goals and 53 points in the 1991-92 season and went on to score 36 and 47 goals in his final two seasons in Sudbury.
Even though he works for another team now, Moore can’t help but be excited for this rivalry to get rejuvenated and remembers how cool it was all those years ago.
“Being that close, obviously, Sudbury fans went there and North Bay fans came here,” he recounted. “The atmosphere in both rinks was always great. I think it’s great for the North, especially in Sudbury, this city needs it … we have die-hard hockey fans here. Last year they got back in the playoffs and lost in the first round, which is too bad, but they lost to the eventual champions. Seems like they’re moving in the right direction and if they can beat North Bay, you know what it’s like here, this city will be going crazy.”
Moore was a big part of the 1994-95 Wolves team that came within a whisker of the OHL final, losing in Game 7 of the league semifinal to the Detroit Junior Red Wings. In 18 playoff games, he had 15 goals and 29 points.
For the current group, the former sniper encourages them to soak it all in.
“Some kids will only play junior and that’s it, while others will go on and play pro or do other things, but the experience of being with your team and winning and going on a run, no matter what sport, it’s just so much fun,” Moore said. “I think it’s hard sometimes to stay in the moment and just enjoy it. Work as hard as you can, because championships are hard to win, especially in junior hockey where you only get a three- or four-year window.
“Live in the moment and enjoy every minute of it.”
Jeff Giffen’s Wolf Tracks column runs every week during the OHL hockey season.
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