As one of the youngest teams in the OHL, and
with huge expectations, the 2004-05 Sudbury Wolves have hit the
holiday break at 16-15-3-2, good for third spot in the Central
Division with 37 points. This represents a significant
improvement over last season after 36 games, which saw the
Wolves struggling with a 11-19-3-3 record and only 28
points.
The Wolves kick off the second half of their
season starting tonight at home against the Kitchener
Rangers.
The Wolves continue to be competitive in
almost every game, but still struggle with consistent scoring,
taking bad penalties and losing on the road.
However, there are many bright points,
including the dramatic 5-2 win over the London Knights on Dec.
17 that halted the Knights' record-setting undefeated streak at
31 games (29-0-2).
That huge win leads one to believe the Wolves
could be primed for another terrific second half, which would
be a repeat of last season.
Rafal Martynowski has emerged once again as a
true presence by scoring highlight reel goals and making
sacrifices to help the team.
Patrick Ehelechner has also started to round
into form, which would be as one of the top goalies in the
league.
Rookies such as Benoit Pouliot, Ryan
McDonough, Nick Foligno and Devin Didiomete have all stepped up
to the challenges of a demanding OHL schedule.
Although Wolves' head coach and general
manager Mike Foligno is pleased with his team's results thus
far, he wants more from the players during the second half,
especially as the stretch run to the playoffs commences.
"We had a good start and got people excited
about our hockey club," said Foligno. "We opened up a lot of
eyes throughout the league. We have some potential here and a
good talent level.
"We have some great developing players,
especially our defence corps, which I think will get better and
better as the season progresses. Our job is to keep teaching
everyday and developing these players because we want to have a
better second half than the first half.
"The players are realizing the importance of
playing a team game, and that's going to make us a better
hockey club."
This year's version has seen a few
surprises.
"Obviously, the most outstanding player
recognized by many people is Ben Pouliot," said Foligno. "We
knew he would be a better player this year, but I don't think
anyone could imagine he would be this good. He's a high calibre
player. Ryan McDonough has also had success. He's not the
biggest player, but plays very hard and intense. He's a danger
around the net. He's just going to get better and
better."
Foligno made no bones about the fact he wants
more scoring during the second half, which means big guns such
as Bobby Chaumont, Zack Stortini and Martynowski will be
counted on to pick things up.
Pouliot and McDonough, as well as
Martynowski, Nick Foligno and Stefan Blaho will also have to
continue to keep up the scoring pace.
"I want to see two well-rounded scoring
lines," said Foligno. "I want more consistency out of our first
and second lines. On any given night you have Pouliot,
Stortini, Martynowski, Chaumont, Blaho, McDonough and Foligno
out there and those guys really bring a lot of scoring
ability.
"Those guys have to show up every night and
get us on the board somehow, someway. We get output from
everybody, but these seven guys are our main guys on the road
and at home. They have to score."
Foligno just doesn't want the offence shape
up in the second half, he wants the defensive corps to also
step it up.
"I would like to see our defence also play
with more consistency," said Foligno. "I want them to further
understand their role and pay the price even more to work
harder down low and maintaining their focus on playing defence.
It will help us improve."
Foligno has big hopes for captain Stortini in
the second half. Foligno says "he's our heart and soul. He
offensive abilities may not be there every night, but he brings
many other parts of the game every night. His physical play and
fighting abilities and defensive play have been good. He still
needs to work on his play everyday. He wasn't pleased with his
play in the first half. He wants to contribute more in the
second half by working even harder and being a heads up
player."
On overage German import goaltender Patrick
Ehelechner, Foligno is expecting big things in the second
half.
"This is one area where we thought we get
stronger play from. Patrick feels he has let down the team in
some games, and considers only a handful of games where he felt
he was a solid performer."
A trade to shake things up could be a
reality.
"We're no different from any other team,"
said Foligno. "We're always talking to other teams, and we are
looking for opportunities to make our team better. We will not
make a trade just for trade's sake. We want stability here. We
want the players to know we make commitments to our players and
keep them."
Nonetheless, the second half is sure to be
filled with plenty of emotional games.
"We have to stay healthy," said Foligno.
"That will be key for us."
