Baker cookin' on ice for Wolves

Good day OHL fans! It's another load of OHL snippets to inject. (As always, stats quoted are as of Northern Life's Thursday press deadline.)

Let's start with some Sudbury Wolves stuff. It seems Kevin Baker is really starting to cook for the Wolves.

Baker, acquired at the OHL trade deadline from Owen Sound for defenceman Kyle Lamb, has seven goals and 10 points in his first 14 games. Baker scored seven goals and 21 points with Owen Sound in 37 games.

"He's staring to feel more and more comfortable every day with our team," said Wolves' head coach and GM Mike Foligno. "Kevin's brought more offence. He has really good speed and a great touch around the net. He's a finisher. He's allowed us to win a few more games."

Kudos to Nick Foligno for his performance at the Five Nations Cup in Sweden this past weekend. Foligno, playing right wing, helped Team USA win the tournament by scoring two goals and adding an assist in four games. Team USA went 4-0.

Wolves' captain Zack Stortini returns from his eight-game suspension on Sunday against Saginaw. Let's see what the expulsion has done for the big man's passion, and one hopes he comes back fired up and ready to put fear into the Wolves' opponents again.

Toronto is still picking teams off in their out-of-nowhere run for a playoff spot. The Majors have fashioned an 8-2 record in their last 10 games prior to their contest against Mississauga last night.

The Majors, who at one point earlier this season were spiraling towards last place overall, have turned around their year and could make the playoffs.

Roster changes and better play at home have spurned the Majors into one of the league's hottest teams.

"All year we've played solid defensively, but we've had trouble scoring goals," said Majors' head coach Bud Stefanski. "The additions we've made have given us some depth on our forward lines. It has given me some flexibility. If one guy isn't going one night, then somebody else steps in and creates healthy competition. There's no question the recent wins have boosted team morale. We put ourselves in a hole because of our home record in the first half of the season. We were around the .500 mark, but since then, we have won 10 or 11 games at home, and that's been a big part of our success."

Your weekly dose of local OHL action is doubled this weekend as the Wolves square off against the Brampton Battalion on Friday at the Sudbury Arena, 7:30 game time, and the Saginaw Spirit on Sunday, 2 pm game time.

The Wolves hold a slight edge in the season series, going 3-2-1-1.

Bobby Chaumont and Rafal Martynowski lead the Wolves this season against the Battalion with seven points each. Chaumont has six goals and seven points in seven games. Martynowski has four goals and three assists in seven games.

For the Battalion, Luch Aquino has been the Wolves biggest problem. Aquino has three goals and nine points in seven games.

Speaking of Saginaw, despite being one of the league's punching bags, they have made some moves that might prove to be bountiful in the future.

Earlier this season, Saginaw acquired Tom Mannino from Windsor and Michal Birner from Barrie in separate transactions.

Both moves have benefited the players.

Mannino came to Saginaw after only producing 11 goals and 27 points in 41 games for Windsor. In his first 14 games with the Spirit, Mannino has six

goals and 13 points. Birner had four goals and 14 points in 28 games with Barrie. In 18 games with the Spirit, Birner has six goals and 17 points.

Both players should prove to be big pieces in the Saginaw puzzle next year.

Sudbury spotlight: Jadran Beljo has had a breakout season with Peterborough. Last year, Beljo managed one goal and four points in 37 games. This season, Beljo already has 16 goals and 29 points in 47 games.