Battle Report
Heading into the final weekend of regular season action, the
Sudbury Wolves are on a rocky road having gone winless in their
last six games.
The team hits the highway for two big road games - Friday
against Kingston, followed by a Sunday match against
Ottawa.
Sudbury is in sixth place and chasing Kingston for fifth;
Ottawa is breathing right down Sudbury's neck in seventh
spot.
Early this week, the Wolves created a buzz when they suspended
forward Akim Aliu indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the
team. An incident after a 4-1 loss to Toronto last weekend
sparked the drastic measure.
"It wasn't an issue with school or an altercation with a
teammate," said Foligno about the suspension. "It's an internal
issue...this action is about putting the team first. It was a
hard decision because of the work the entire club has put in to
help Akim mature not just as a player but a person as well.
He's a talented 17-year-old player. He's still part of this
team and we're not giving up on him. We've spoken with his
agent and his family to, hopefully, put a positive end to this
situation so we can prepare for the 2007 playoffs. It had
become a distraction to the club...it didn't benefit the team
in any way and it had to be done."
On a more positive note, the Wolves will welcome back their
captain Marc Staal this weekend. Staal had missed last week's
action due to a lower body injury. The two-time World Junior
Championship gold medal winner is expected to give the team a
huge lift.
"He practiced hard this week," said Foligno. "The time off will
pay big dividends as we move forward. He had five days off...it
was probably the most time off he has had in four years. It
will bode well...he has a refreshed attitude and mindset and
knows what we expect from him as we go into the playoffs."
With all the turmoil surrounding the squad, Sudbury has brought
in a young forward to skate with the team. Justin Dicks, 16,
was called up from the Huntsville Otters of the OPJHL. The
five-foot-nine, 150-pound forward had 17 goals and 41 points in
42 games this season.
"He's skating with the club...we're not sure if he will be
playing," said Foligno. "He's getting a taste of the OHL. He's
a really good skater and he's skilled and crafty with the puck.
He's also a hard worker."
The Wolves need to deploy a stronger forecheck and backcheck
and fine-tune their penalty killing units to snap the winless
streak.
"We've talked to the players at length about areas of
concern...they know what they have to do," said Foligno.
Enemy Lines
The Sudbury Wolves finish their 2006-07 regular season on the
road with games against Kingston on Friday and Ottawa on
Sunday.
Here's quick look at both opponents heading into the weekend
action.
Kingston Frontenacs
The Frontenacs struggled early on in the season, but rebounded
nicely over the final few months to move up the Eastern
Conference standings.
Kingston holds down fifth overall in the conference.
The squad has been bolstered by the return of winger Cory
Emmerton, who missed two months because of a broken ankle.
He returned last weekend and scored three goals and five points
in three games, but Kingston went 1-2.
The Frontenacs are an explosive offensive team. In their first
66 games, they tallied 261 goals for, which was sixth best in
the OHL.
The line up features no less than seven 20-goal scorers. Bobby
Hughes leads with 38 goals, followed by Chris Stewart (36),
Peder Skinner (28), Emmerton (27), Matt Auffrey (26), and
Matthew Kang and Bobby Bolt (21).
As good as Kingston is at putting the puck in the net, they are
just as bad at keeping the puck out of their own net.
In those 66 games, Kingston surrendered 277 goals against,
which was fifth worst in the OHL.
The club has used four goalies this season to try and find the
right combination in net. Daryl Borden and Jason Guy are still
battling for the starter's role.
Borden has the upper hand right now having one win and one
shoot out loss in his last two starts with a 1.93
goals-against-average (GAA) and .929 save percentage.
Guy has lost his last two starts outright and has a spotty 8.26
GAA and .750 save percentage in those two games.
Ottawa 67's
The 67's have stayed below the radar for almost all season, but
managed to clinch a play off berth last weekend.
Head coach Brian Kilrea has coached Ottawa for 30 seasons, and
has guided them to the playoffs 29 times, a remarkable
accomplishment at this level. Kilrea has also now coached over
2,000 OHL games and has over 1,100 victories.
In their first 64 games, Ottawa managed a 28-32-0-4 record, good for seventh in the Eastern Conference.
Ottawa isn't a team to take lightly. They feature a host of
young, skilled players including forward Logan Couture.
The six-foot centre is a top rated prospect for the upcoming
2007 NHL Entry Draft, and most scouts project he will be a
first-round pick.
Couture blends tremendous offensive skill with savvy defensive
play. He's one of the most complete players in the OHL.
He missed part of the season fighting mono. In 50 games,
Couture registered 23 goals and 67 points.
