The Sudbury Wolves stuck with one of the best teams in the league for two periods on Saturday night, but it was the third period that had head coach David Matsos steaming after a 6-0 loss to the Windsor Spitfires.
“The thing that bothers me about this one, is when things started getting tough against a good hockey club, for me I just looked down and I thought I’ve lost them now, when the game just got tough, and that is frustrating,” said Matsos.
Matsos said he was disappointed by how the team played as a whole, but the leadership group in particular.
“We always talk about body language, we talk about character and those sorts of things. I learned a lot about a lot of guys and a lot about a lot of the older guys. Not just the old guys, I’m not going to single anybody out but there was a mix. Things got tough and we didn’t have guys that could battle through a war,” said Matsos.
“That’s why they’re leaders, they have to lead the charge through a tough battle,” said Matsos.
Captain Kyle Capobianco also saw his team drop their heads and let the goals pile up.
‘We’ve just got to finish hard, we’ve got three games left before the break. I think that third period we switched into Christmas mode and I think we can’t do that and that’s unacceptable,” said Capobianco.
After one period it was 0-0 with the shots tied at five apiece. The Spitfires found the net with 2:33 left in the second period on a rebound goal by Luke Boka. But then in the third period, when it was still anybody’s game, the Wolves surrendered five straight goals and allowed Michael Dipietro to pick up his second straight shutout.
Matsos said it won’t be long before the problems are talked about.
“It’s going to be addressed, it’s not going to be long before it’s addressed. I didn’t like our body language at the 10-minute mark, guys leaning on boards. I need guys that want to go after it, take it right to the wire when things get hard. That’s what separates winning a championship and not,” said Matsos.
“Nobody likes to be embarrassed like that, nobody likes to rewatch what happened, which is one of the things I think is most valuable with video, it’s not enjoyable. This is a sport that we’re in where you got to call guys out, and if they can’t answer it then maybe they’re not built for the pros.”
Capobianco said it’s up to the leaders on the team to turn it around with a busy road schedule ahead.
“It’s tough especially with Teddy Bear Toss game, I think everybody is going to take it pretty hard. I think we’re going to rebound next weekend and it’s good that we play the Sault on Wednesday -- it doesn’t give us too much time to think about this.
”Windsor was shorthanded, missing three of their top six point producers, and then they lost Graham Knott who leads the team in points, after he exchanged words with a referee in the first period.
But good teams find ways to win.
“They’re a good team, they’re ranked in the top ten and I think it showed tonight. They were short staffed, missing some good players and they stepped up and had a big game,” said Capobianco.
Sudbury’s road doesn’t get any easier as they hit Highway 17 for a Wednesday game against Sault Ste. Marie who, coming into Saturday night, had won 10 straight games and find themselves in the top 10 CHL rankings.
Then it’s a trip to Kitchener and Owen Sound before the holiday break, both of those teams hold a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Sudbury drops to 13-16-2-0 and sit 7th in the Eastern Conference, while Windsor improves to 20-5-4-0 and leap frogs Sault Ste. Marie for second in the Western Conference.
Sudbury has now lost two straight games scoring just once combined against Flint and Windsor.
While the game might not have gone Sudbury's way, another activity held at the game was certainly successful. Saturday's game was the annual TD Toy Bank Teddy Bear Toss, and some 1,100 stuffed animals were tossed down onto the ice.
