Battle Report
The Sudbury Wolves are ready to continue to defend their den.
The Wolves stamped their ticket to the Eastern Conference
Championship by sweeping the Barrie Colts last week in the
second round, and thumping Mississauga in the first round in
five games.
Now, they face the Belleville Bulls.
Games 1 and 2 are in Belleville, starting today and Thursday.
Game times are 7:15 pm. Games 3 and 4 switch back to Sudbury on
Sunday, April 22 and Monday, April 23, with game time both
nights 7:30 pm at the Sudbury Arena.
The Wolves are salivating at the potential feast of Bull flesh
coming their way.
"I think it's going to be an exciting series," said Sudbury
head coach and GM Mike Foligno. "We feel good about ourselves.
There's a real sense of confidence around the team and in it.
We're playing a very good opponent...with an equal playoff
record. It will make for a highly competitive and interesting
series."
The story lines run deep between the two clubs. The Wolves
feature Justin Donati, who's the twin brother of Bulls forward
Tyler. Sudbury also has two former Bulls players - power
forward Andrew Self and goalie Sebastian Dahm - who were picked
up in two separate trades during the regular season.
"Andrew, Justin and Sebastian are proving a lot in the
playoffs, to us and themselves," said Foligno. "They're all
capable of great things. Andrew and Justin play on out top
line. Donati is doing what we expected him to do. Andrew has
been playing his best hockey in the last month. He's
accountable and working hard every shift of every game.
Sebastian is a proud guy and loves to compete. He's one of the
most competitive guys I've seen. He wants to stop every
puck...even in practice. These three guys, along with everyone
else, have given us a solid boost."
The Wolves must not rock the boat when it comes to continuing
their success.
"The key for us isn't to change anything we've been doing,"
said Foligno. "It just has to be more defined now. We need to
be consistent in the things we do extremely well...and that's
playing strong, defensive hockey and being a threat in the
offensive zone. We want to take the attack to Belleville."
The Bulls play in a bigger rink than every other OHL arena,
featuring a width of almost 100-feet compared to the normal
85-feet.
"It's an adjustment," said Foligno. "We held a practice at
Countryside Arena (which has an ice surface of about 100-feet
across). We worked on special teams and had scrimmages. The
adjustment to a bigger rink in is our player's minds...they
know what to do."
Sudbury is expecting even more from their steady veterans such
as captain Marc Staal, Jonathan D'Aversa, Adam McQuaid, Kevin
Baker, Donati, Devin DiDiomete and others.
"They all have a taste for winning now and they like it and
want more," said Foligno. "Marc will be our leader again. We
will also count on every one else to have solid contributions.
We have a proud bunch in the room. We're all in it to beat
Belleville."
Dahm is ready for a run at his former team.
"I'm very excited to play Belleville," said the Danish goalie.
"They traded me last year...obviously it's an opportunity for
me to try and stick it to them. But I don't really think about
that...it's a team game and we need every one going full
throttle to beat Belleville."
Enemy Line
Significant injuries haven't stopped the running of the
Bulls.
The Belleville Bulls have overcome critical injuries to key
players to make the Eastern Conference championship for the
first time since 2000.
Belleville dumped Ottawa in five games in the first round and
then followed with a four-game sweep of the Oshawa Generals in
the second round to get to the conference final. They now play
the Sudbury Wolves. Games 2 and 3 are in Belleville, starting
today and tomorrow. Game times are 7:15 pm.
"It's been a good run so far," said Bulls head coach and GM
George Burnett. "We've dealt with some adversity and
significant injuries. We got through it and that's a positive
sign for us."
The Bulls have missed big forward Andrew Gibbons and defenceman
Matt Pelech. Both have unspecified injuries and it wasn't clear
as of press time if they would be playing in the series against
Sudbury.
"Andrew...is our captain and heart and soul," said Burnett. "He
hasn't played since Game 3 of the Ottawa series. It's difficult
to replace your captain. Matt has also missed some time. Those
are two big minute guys, but it's been a nice opportunity for
some of our younger guys to elevate their games and step
in."
Eric Tangradi has been one of those young players who have
answered the call. Tangradi has exploded in the playoffs for
six goals and 14 points in nine games. During the regular
season, the six-foot-three forward had just five goals and 20
points in 65 games.
"Eric has really come in and has received some recognition for
his scoring ability," said the bench boss. "He started to come
into his own at the end of the season and is now playing with a
lot of confidence."
The Bulls feature Tyler Donati, the twin brother of Wolves
winger Justin. Burnett sees this as an exciting element to the
series.
"Tyler has had a strong playoff and he's not even 100 percent
yet. He's been dealing with some injuries too," said the coach.
"It will be more difficult for those two guys to play against
each other than most people know...they really care about one
another. I'm sure they'll both be anxious to do well."
The Bulls are also getting stellar work from defender P.K.
Subban. The six-foot, 200-pound player filled the void left by
Pelech admirably. In nine games, Subban has three goals, nine
points and a +5 rating.
"P.K. has also elevated his game...a lot of people have
questioned his ability to play a defensive role, but he did and
did a great job," said Burnett.
Belleville is getting consistent efforts from all their
players.
"It hasn't just been one guy as the reason we've got to this
point," said Burnett. "We've received solid goaltending from
Kevin Lalande and contributions from guys like Tyler Doig,
Bryan Cameron...everyone. We're doing it as a collective group.
We have secondary scoring as well, which is important at this
time in the season. It makes us more difficult to play
against."
The Bulls anticipate a tough series.
"We need our best size in the lineup to compete against Sudbury
each night," said Burnett. "We have respect for them...they're
big and physical and skilled. We had some close games with them
this season."
