BY
SCOTT HADDOW
Battle Report
If the Sudbury Wolves are to be considered true contenders for the OHL crown this season, they will find out this weekend as they face two of the best teams in the OHL.
They host Saginaw tonight and London Sunday afternoon.
Last week, Sudbury was involved in several major deals to
upgrade their offence, defence and goaltending.
The deals to pick up forward Justin Donati from Toronto and
defender Zack McCullough from Owen Sound paid immediate
dividends. Both players made an instant impact. Donati picked
up six points in his first four games, while McCullough racked
up four points and a +3 rating in his first three games. The
Wolves managed to pick up points in three of the four
games.
Donati seem to have chemistry with veteran Nick Foligno, who
reeled off two goals and nine points in the first four games
since the trades.
The two players make up two-thirds of the first line. Patrick
Lusnak is also playing his best hockey since the trades.
The Wolves also picked up goalie Sebastian Dahm from Sarnia.
Dahm hasn't had a big impact on the local club yet, going
1-1-0-1 in his first three games. He has allowed 10 goals
against in that span.
One thing the Wolves have going for them is goal scoring by
committee. No less than nine players on the Sudbury roster have
already hit double digits. Donati leads with 29 goals, followed
by Foligno, 19 goals, Kevin Baker, 19 goals, Devin Didiomete,
18 goals, Matt Dias, 17 goals, Patrik Lusnak, 14 goals, Akim
Aliu and Andrew Self with 12 each and Jonathan D'Aversa with
10.
Enemy Line
The invading enemies this weekend for the Sudbury Wolves feature some of the best junior hockey players in the country.
The Wolves entertain the Saginaw Spirit Friday night at the
Sudbury Arena. Game time is 7:30 pm. Sudbury then hosts the
always powerful London Knights Sunday at 2 pm.
Here's a quick look at how both teams were doing heading into
the weekend action.
Saginaw
The Spirit were favoured by many hockey experts at the start of
the season to win the OHL Championship.
Unfortunately for Saginaw, those expectations hindered the club and they stumbled out of the gate.
The team has undergone major transformations to stay
competitive in the tough Western Conference.
At press deadline, the Spirit held onto fifth place in the
Western Conference with a record of 26-15-0-2. They have been
average over their last 10 games, recording five wins and five
losses.
The team made a big splash early on in the season when they
shipped hot shot sophomore Zack Torquato to Erie for Ryan
O'Marra, who represented Canada at the 2007 World Junior
Championship (WJC) and won gold.
O'Marra has been struggling to regain his form that saw him
become a NHL first round pick (New York Islanders) in 2005. In
10 games with Saginaw, O'Marra has just four goals and six
points.
Saginaw also added hard-nosed Cody Bass from Mississauga and
defender Andrew Hotham from Erie in two separate deals to
further bolster their squad.
Bass has provided the Spirit with a much needed lift by scoring
five points in his first five games, and playing his usual
physically-punishing game.
Jan Mursak leads Saginaw in scoring with 16 goals and 51 points
in 34 games.
London
The Knights were supposed to be rebuilding after winning the
Memorial Cup in 2005.
Yet, they have remained at the top of the heap of the OHL
standings thanks in large part to the play of two super rookies
- Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner.
Prior to the weekend, London was second overall in the OHL and
first in the Western Conference with a record of 29-10-1-3.
They were also riding a 7-2-0-1 streak in their last 10
games.
Kane and Gagner have been a two-man wrecking crew. The duo have
combined for 146 points in London's first 41 games. Kane had 28
goals and 75 points in 35 games, while Gagner had 21 goals and
71 points in 33 games. They were third and fourth,
respectively, in OHL scoring.
The Knights also received a New Year's boost from rookie centre
Justin Taylor, who hails from London. Taylor played his first
game on Jan. 4 and now has six points in his first six
games.
The Knights are one of the highest scoring teams in the league.
In the first 41 games, London scored 181 goals for, good for
second overall in the OHL.
