Enemy Line  
There's no where to go but up for the Ottawa 67's.
The storied franchise has fallen on hard times early on this
season, going a less than stellar 7-12-0-1 and occupying last
place in the Eastern Conference.
It wasn't supposed to be this bad. The 67's had plenty of
momentum heading into the 2006-07 season, thanks to an exciting
group of forwards and a fairly balanced defence corps.
They stumbled out of the gate and have yet to catch fire and
produce effective results.
In their last 10 games, Ottawa is 3-6-0-1.
"We just haven't played very well as a team," said head coach
and GM Brian Kilrea. "Right now, we're struggling at both ends
of the rink. It's been tough for us. We have some players who
haven't played as well as they can. We're hoping somebody can
turn it around."
The plan to turn the ship around isn't hard, but actually doing
it will be another thing.
"I've always said that hard work can turn around any team and
stop a losing streak," said the coach. "Right now, we're being
outworked…and it has to stop. I want to see the team go out,
work a little harder and forget about what has happened in the
past and look ahead."
One of the few positive spots for the 67's has been goalie
Brady Morrison. The veteran puck stopper has performed well,
going 6-6-0-1. On average, he faces 35 shots per games, one of
the highest in the OHL.
"He's been a real bright spot for us," said Kilrea. "When he
plays, he's given us a chance to win. We lost a lot of one-goal
games. We've been fortunate to have him."
A big surprise has been the play of 2006 first-round pick,
defender Tyler Cuma, who has one goal and five points through
20 games.
"Tyler has played extremely well for a rookie," said the bench
boss. "He's a great skater and never seems to tire. He can play
both sides and just works from start to finish."
A big reason for Ottawa's slide down the standings has been the
fact top centre Logan Couture, has missed half of the team's
first 20 games. He has battled mononucleosis, and it's still
dragging him down.
"He's back now, but he's not fully recovered," said Kilrea.
"It's been tough for him and tough for the team because he
could have been the difference for us in a lot of those
one-goal games.."
Ottawa has relied on Jamie McGinn for offence. He leads the
team with 13 goals and 23 points.
"Jamie works hard," said Kilrea. "Because of not having Logan
as his centre, he has had to change his game. We're hoping he
stays strong."
 Battle Report
The Sudbury Wolves want to be like a shaken bottle of pop tonight and explode on the Ottawa 67's. Game time is 7:30 pm.
They don't want to play flat again, like they did last week
during a 5-2 loss to Guelph.
"If we play like we did in our last two games…with good jump,
good playmaking ability and smart defence, we will be fine,"
said head coach and GM Mike Foligno. "Last week, against
Guelph, we were flat and getting behind early didn't help. We
couldn't muster anything. It was discouraging, but the boys
bounced back against Owen Sound…and beat a top team the next
night. We had a solid effort against Oshawa…I don't want to
blame the officials, but there were some calls that were out of
our hands."
Sudbury has been trying to put together a solid streak of
successful hockey, but it hasn't materialized yet. The Wolves
seem to win a game, then lose a game. Foligno feels the squad
has all the right elements in place to be a frequent
winner.
"It will not take much," said Foligno before pausing. "It will
take a consistent effort from everyone to have more
success."
It's starting to sound like a skipping record, but Sudbury
still has to cut down on the trips to the sin bin.
"What's key…is we have to limit our penalties, especially in
each period," said Foligno. "Three a period we can kill.
 But when we start getting five, six or seven a period, it's too tough to kill. No team in the league has been called on more five-on-three power plays than the Sudbury Wolves. Our penalty kill has slipped over the last four or five games."
After thwarting 54 Owen Sound shots and playing relatively
steady hockey last weekend, goalie Kevin Beech's stock is on
the rise.
"He allowed us to get some points last week," said Foligno. "He
had a big game against Owen Sound…without him, they might have
scored 15 goals (instead of two on 56 shots.) He has turned the
corner and regained the confidence of the players. We expect
him to be a top goalie and he has a lot of pride and wants to
do well."
Rookie J.K. Gill, 16, who has two goals and six points in 24
games, is really starting to find his groove.
"He plays hard each shift," said Foligno. "Because he plays
with such energy, he's been getting more ice time. He's really
showing his work ethic against opponents."
Fiery forward Devin DiDiomete is also playing some of his best
hockey as well.
"Devin has been one of our most consistent players," said the
bench boss. "He plays physical and with a lot of passion. It's
great seeing him develop into a player we can use in any
situation. He has put his mind to it, is paying the price and
working hard."
