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Sudbury Wolves hit the road for three games

BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW [email protected] The Sudbury Wolves are away from the friendly confines of the Sudbury Arena this weekend for their first three regular season road games.
BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW

The Sudbury Wolves are away from the friendly confines of the Sudbury Arena this weekend for their first three regular season road games.

The Wolves square off against the Ottawa 67's tonight in the Nation's capital, followed by games against the Peterborough Petes on Saturday night, and the Kingston Frontenacs on Sunday afternoon.

The road trip will be important, as the Wolves look to continue their winning ways, and further establish a strong bond amongst teammates.

Wolves' head coach and general manager Mike Foligno will have his troops ready for war on the road.

"There will not be much change to our game," said Foligno. "Our game is going to be all about speed. We will have to make sure we're executing very quickly, especially against some of the teams we're going to face. Playing in their rinks, they're going to try to slow us down. We can't have any of that. We have to keep the tempo up for three periods in each game."

Even if opposing teams slow the Wolves down, it could prove to be a benefit for the Wolves.

"If we force them into situations where they try to slow us down, and maybe they get some penalties, it opens up room for our power play, which has been clicking well so far," said Foligno. "When you're playing on the road, you get fewer power play chances, so we have to make sure we capitalize on those opportunities"

Last season, the Wolves fashioned a less-than-stellar road record with only seven wins, and the whole team is determined to make the Wolves into true road warriors.

"Last year's record stems from having a young defense and being on the road for the first time, and everybody going through it," said Foligno. "You can only battle so hard, but only experience and time will heal the problem. This year, the defense is the strength of the club, and success will come with a real pride in our team defense on the road."

The Wolves will use the first road trip of the regular season to cement bonds within the team.

"This is a great group of guys," said Foligno. "We're getting along, and we want to show that cohesiveness on the ice. It's important we play a unified game. We want to be physical , intense and control our discipline."

The Wolves beat the 67's 3-1 in the season opener last Friday, and followed with a 6-1 thrashing of the Erie Otters.

OHL notes as of Northern Life press time.

The 67's have a wicked one-two scoring punch up front in San Jose Sharks' 2004 first round draft pick Lukas Kaspar, who has three goals in two games, and Jakub Petruzalek, who has three assists in two games.

The Kingston Frontenacs are led by Florida Panthers 2003 first round draft pick and World Junior star Anthony Stewart.

The Wolves' leading scorers so far are Ben Pouliot with three goals and four points, and Ryan McDonough with one goal and four points.

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