​Ripley Wolves pummel Erin, sweep first-round series

The Ripley Wolves have advanced to the semi-finals after sweeping their first-round series, with two wins on the weekend, ousting the Erin Outlaws from the playoffs in the Ontario Elite Hockey League.

In Game 3, Saturday night at the Ripley Arena, the Wolves rode five first-period goals to a 6-1 win, taking a three-game lead in the best-of-seven series.

Garrett Meurs scored two goals, while singles went to Jakob Reeves, Nick Seiler and Tyson Soers in the first 14 minutes of the game, chasing Erin's netminder. Ethan Skinner finished off the scoring with one in the third.

Assists went to Dan Nicoloff (2), Kaden Hoggarth (2), Gerritt Satosek (2), Chase Meurs, Dylan Sayle, Todd Hellyer, Brett Catto and Cody Britton.

Goalie Jason Hamilton stopped 34 of 35 shots for the victory.

Sunday afternoon in Erin, the Wolves trounced the Outlaws, 11-2, to take the series in four games straight.

Dan Nicoloff led the way with a hat-trick, while Garrett Meurs and Jarred Colling added two each in a game that saw the Wolves lead, 4-1, after one period, and cruise to victory from there. Other goal-scorers were Gerritt Satosek, Cody Britton, Jakob Reeves, and Kaden Hoggarth.

Assists went to Tyson Soers (3), Nicoloff (2), Britton (2), Hoggarth (2), Colling (2), Satosek (2), Brett Catto, Logan Swanton, Meurs and Reeves.

Goalie Jason Hamilton stopped 33 of 35 shots, with 21 of them coming in the third period, to keep the game out of reach.

The Wolves will have this weekend to rest and watch the results of the other series to see who they'll face in the semi-finals.

The Creemore Coyotes won three games this weekend against the Saugeen Shores Winterhawks to take a 3-2 series lead. Seaforth staved off elimination with a 5-2 win on Sunday, though Minto still leads that series, 3-1. And Tavistock leads its best-of-seven against Durham, 3-1.

Watch www.ripleywolves.com and the Wolves social media pages for information on the semi-finals as it becomes available.