BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
The Sudbury Wolves have their backs up
against the wall, down 3-1 to the Ottawa 67's in the second
round playoff series, but the players are
confident they can sink their teeth into a
victory.
The Wolves square off against the 67's in
Game five tonight at the Sudbury Arena. Game time is 7:30 pm,
and it should be all out war.
For the first time in the 2005 playoffs, the
Wolves are on the brink of elimination thanks to a 5-2 loss in
game four.
The Wolves are reeling from injuries and
suspensions. Stalwart defenceman Adam McQuaid is out for the
series with a lower body injury. Rugged
defenceman Thomas Sample is out with an upper
body injury, but could return for tonight's game.
The Wolves are also without the services of
tough guy Kyle Musselman, who has been suspended indefinitely
for a sucker punch to the head of Ottawa's Mark Mancari in Game
three.
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Despite the bleak outlook, Wolves head coach
and GM Mike Foligno is confident his troops can still get the
job done.
"I believe we can win," said Foligno. "We're
going to have to come out with our best effort. We're taking it
one game at a time now. We have to put it all out on the line,
and keep taking the play to them."
The Wolves are getting chances, but Lively
native and Ottawa goalie Danny Battachio has stymied the Wolves
shooters.
"We know we're getting opportunities to
score," said Foligno. "We're averaging almost 50 shots a game.
That's a lot of shots for any goalie to handle.
The difference has been goaltending, which
has been very solid for Ottawa. We have to keep taking a large
volume of shots, but also not give up
defensively and allow Ottawa more
opportunities to score. It will not be easy to do because
Ottawa's an offensive team."
With injuries to McQuaid and Sample, Foligno
is hoping the young guys fill in admirably.
"With McQuaid and Sample out, we are looking
at our depth to play better," said Foligno.
A win in game five could swing the series,
and the Wolves didn't have to look far for inspiration to fight
back.
"If we win game five, then we just have to
win one game in their building to take it back home for game
seven," said Foligno.
"I have seen a lot of series go in different
directions with one win. Look at the Windsor-Sault Ste. Marie
series. (Windsor was down 3-0, but ended
up winning four straight games to win the
series.) That makes us confident we can do it as well. We're
getting our chances and we deserve a
better fate."
