Sudbury Showdown

BY SCOTT HADDOW

The Sudbury Wolves are ripping through the competition right now and have forged three straight wins to put them in a tie for second spot in the Central Division with Toronto.

The Wolves will look to continue their winning ways when they host the Belleville Bulls tonight at the Sudbury Arena. Game time is 7:30 pm.

This is the first meeting of the season for the two clubs, but they don't waste any time playing a second time, as this is a home-and-home series.

Sudbury plays the Bulls in Belleville on Saturday.

With the success, the Wolves are developing a winning attitude.

"Confidence breeds confidence," said Wolves head coach and GM Mike Foligno about the recent success. "Winning is like everything else in that it's a habit. We're striving to keep these positive habits going now."

Foligno is glad to see more offensive production out of the second line.

"Having a second line, with Kevin Baker, Devin DiDiomete and Matt Dias, scoring is a big key for us," said Foligno. "We don't want to be known as a one-line scoring team. Not only do we want the second line scoring, but we would also like to see some contributions from our other lines as well."

Wolves defenceman Jonathan D'Aversa is doubtful for the game because of an injury.

The Wolves power play is rolling along, operating at a stellar 22.9 percent, good for fifth overall in the OHL.

A huge cog in the power play has been Sudbury boy Kyle Hope, who has three power play goals in 10 games.

"Kyle loves to shoot and can shoot hard and hit the net," said Foligno. "That's a good combination to have."

The Belleville Bulls have been on a rocky ride since the start of the season.

Decimated by injuries to key players at the start of the season, the Bulls are only now starting to turn things around.

"It's been a series of highs and lows for us," said head coach and GM George Burnett. "We've dealt with some significant injuries in our first eight to 10 games. We had Ryan Rorabeck, Andrew Gibbons and Matt Belesky all out during the first eight games. It was a lot to handle."

Through their first 16 games, the Bulls have fashioned a record of 6-9-1.

With the return of their injured players, the Bulls are playing better hockey overall. "Since those guys returned, we've been more competitive," said Burnett. "We're having trouble scoring goals. We're playing good hockey in every game, but struggling to find the net."

Burnett recently named Rorabeck team captain upon his return from injury.

"Ryan is a five-year guy," said Burnett. "He has extensive playoff experience at this level with us and Toronto. He's our leader and he's done well since returning."

The Bulls have been bolstered this season by a pair of 16 year olds, defenceman P.K. Subban and centre Bryan Cameron."We've had strong efforts from Bryan and P.K.," said Burnett. "Bryan has had a great start and is one of our leaders in goals. P.K. helps run our powerplay and he's doing well."

Cameron has seven goals and nine points in 16 games, while Subban has two goals and four points in 10 games.

Belleville expects a wild tussle from the Sudbury Wolves on Friday night.

"Sudbury's a high-powered team," said Burnett. "With Ben Pouliot in their lineup, it gives them another dimension and he can carry that club on his back. The key for us will be to keep getting stronger play without the puck and putting an emphasis on creating more offensive chances. We also can't put our penalty killing units in a situation where they are killing off 11 to 12 minors each night. We are a good skating team and we need to be fresh. We also need to go out and play with a lot of energy."

Top Bulls scorers (games played, goals, assists, points):

Evan Brophey 15-6-12-18, Gibbons 12-3-8-11, Ryan Berard 15-6-5-11.