BY
SCOTT HADDOW
Battle Report
While the Sudbury Wolves aren't having any trouble scoring goals right now, the problem is they can't seem to stop goals being scored on them.
In two tough losses last weekend, Sudbury surrendered 16 goals
against, while scoring 10.
Wolves head coach and GM Mike Foligno will not stand for
another weak defensive effort this weekend as the Wolves square
off against three strong teams - Belleville (tonight, game time
at the Sudbury Arena is 7:30 pm), and road trips to Barrie on
Saturday and Kitchener on Sunday.
"We created a lot of offensive opportunities...we did it very
well," said Foligno. "We scored 10 goals in two games.
The big problem was we allowed 16 against. It's absolutely unacceptable. It's not the kind of team we want to project to the rest of the league. To be successful, we have to be a defensive-oriented team...it's that simple. The strength of our club, for sometime, is our defence. We have to build around the defence. We now know we can score...now the key is to understand defence will make us successful. Scoring goals is great, but winning games is more important."
The Wolves will need new goalie Sebastian Dahm to be more sharp
to help the defensive effort wished by Foligno. In his first
five games, Dahm went 1-2-0-1 and recorded a 4.70 goals-against
average and a .847 save percentage.
Foligno wants a return to form when it comes to dishing out
constant physical punishment to opposing teams.
"We have to play a physical game...we're effective when we do
that," said the bench boss. "When we play our physical game, we
get a lot of room and respect on the ice. We create room to
create scoring chances. In the Saginaw game, we started with a
lot of physical play, but we didn't continue...and Saginaw got
back in it and won.
Against London, we hardly had any physical play. It goes hand-in-hand with our defensive play. We need to take the body at every opportunity and win the battles along the boards and in the corners."
One of the Wolves' deals at the deadline was bringing in
19-year-old defender Zack McCullough from Owen Sound. The
six-foot-three blueliner has impressed with three goals, five
points and a +2 rating in his first six games.
"We knew he could put up some offensive numbers," said Foligno.
"He has shown good poise. We're happy with his progress.
Against London, he was on the ice for only one goal against and
that was a power play. He's been really strong for us. He hates
to lose. He jumps into the holes and looks for
opportunities."
Enemy Lines
The Belleville Bulls made a few big moves in the off season,
early in the regular season and at the deadline, and it appears
the transactions have finally paid off.
The Bulls have been one of the hottest teams in the OHL
recently, picking up three straight wins and going 6-2-0-2 in
their last 10 games.
In the off season, the Bulls picked up overage forward Tyler
Donati and six-foot-four, 225-pound defender Matt Pelech.
Those moves have kept the team rock solid as Donati is one
of the league's top scorers with 41 goals and 88 points in 46
games. Pelech is one of the top stay-at-home defencemen in the
league with 29 points, 144 penalty minutes and a +8 rating
through 46 games.
"Tyler is a polished goal scorer," said head coach and GM
George Burnett. "He's a guy we count on to score. He's been a
nice addition for us...we thought he would come in and score 40
to 50 goals and he already has 41 goals."
At the deadline, the Bulls added sniper Tyler Doig from
Guelph.
"Our hope with adding Tyler was that he would makes us a bit
deeper at forward and make it difficult for teams to match up
lines," said Burnett. "Tyler's solid on faceoffs and finds ways
to get on the score sheet. He makes good decisions and plays.
He gives us a nice one-two punch down the middle with him and
Shawn Matthias. He really helps our power play and he can kill
penalties."
The Bulls have also received excellent mileage out of their
2006 first-round OHL Draft pick, defender Shawn Lalonde. The
rookie has been a solid two-way player with 23 points and a +8
rating in 45 games.
"His progress has been steady," said the bench boss. "Around
November he really started to take charge. He had an excellent
start to the second half that allowed us to trade one of our
19-year-old defenceman at the deadline. He's a dynamic skater.
It's been an adjustment for him...he was a forward all his life
until his draft year. We expect a lot from him and he's
responded well."
Despite the Sudbury Wolves recent woes, the Bulls will be
ready for a tough match.
"Based on their losses last weekend, we expect they will
bring their A game tonight," said Burnett. "They made a lot of
changes and sometimes it takes a few games for everything come
together. We've seen it on our club and I'm sure we will see
Sudbury's best team."
The Bulls are still without the services of No. 1 goalie
Kevin Lalande. He's out with three fractures in his hand from a
fight in late December.
"Our team has kept pace despite the loss of our all-star goalie...our young goalies have done a great job for us," said Burnett.
