Three cheers for Ironman Chaumont

Greetings OHL fans, it's another round of points to ponder. (Stats quoted are as of Northern Life's Thursday morning press deadline.) Let's start with some Wolves bites. Your weekly dose of OHL action comes in the form of the Wolves hosting the Barrie Colts tonight at the Sudbury Arena. Game time is 7:30 pm.

The Wolves, OHL and the City of Greater Sudbury will all pay tribute to forward Bobby Chaumont before the game for setting the OHL record for most consecutive games played with 267. Chaumont got the record last weekend against Sarnia.

This will be the final regular season meeting between the two clubs, and with important playoff positioning on the line, both clubs should come out firing on all cylinders.

The season series is split, with both clubs winning three games, losing three games and tying the other.

So far, Rafal Martynowski and Ben Pouliot have led the way for the Wolves against the Colts. Pouliot has three goals and seven points in seven games, while Martynowski has two goals and seven points in seven games.

Wolves head coach and GM Mike Foligno is expecting a war.

"It will definitely be a playoff-type atmosphere," said Foligno. "It will help determine where teams finish for playoff rankings. We have to continue our winning ways. We will need everybody playing their best."

With last weekend's successful road trip, the Wolves have now surpassed last season's win total on the road. In 2003-04, the Wolves won just seven games away from Sudbury. This season, the Wolves have already claimed victory in 11 games, with three road games left this year.

Confidence is a major factor for the recent success.

"Our young guys are playing with more confidence right now," said Foligno. "We have a bit more offensive firepower this year as well. Our defence is also more mature and playing well on the road. Last year was a learning curve for the young guys, but now they have almost two full seasons under their belt, and the majority of them are playing with more control and poise."

The Wolves have also resurrected their once awful power play. Last season, the Wolves were dead last in the OHL with a power play ranking of just 8.8 percent. This season, the Wolves are operating at an 18.6 percent rate, already scoring 28 more power play goals than last season (59 to

31).

The Wolves will have to be careful of Colts forwards Hunter Tremblay and Bryan Little. Both have scored five points in the series.

The Colts have been making noise recently in the league due to a well-rounded offence that includes Rob Hisey among others.

"We didn't have a lot of balance at the start of the season," said Colts head coach Marty Williams. "Hisey has given us a more balanced attack, which is what every team is looking for. It's not just about Tremblay and Little. Hisey has done, for us, what he has done for the last four years - put up numbers. Little has been on a good streak lately. Little's a quality player, who plays both ends of the rink. When you have multiple weapons, it makes it harder for teams to defend against."

Williams, a first-year coach, has enjoyed the Barrie-Sudbury rivalry, especially since Williams scouted for the Wolves last season.

"The rivalry has been great," said Williams. "Everybody battles for every inch, and I expect the same (tonight)."

Williams was also recently named the new head coach of the Team Ontario Under 17 program.

Sudbury fans should know that Mississauga forward Daniel Carcillo has been reinstated for the 2005 playoffs. Carcillo was suspended on Jan 26th

for the remainder of the regular season for cross checking Wolves' defenceman Adam McQuaid in the face.

Let's hope the OHL hasn't made a mistake by allowing the dirty, but highly skilled, Carcillo back in the league. The suspension was his second of the season for a stick-related offence.

A couple of London Knights are on an impressive offensive tear.

David Bolland and Corey Perry are obliterating goalies around the league. In their last six games, the two forwards have produced a combined 38 points.

Perry has six goals and 24 points in his last six games, while Bolland has three goals and 14 points in his last six games.

Perry was named OHL Player of the Week.

Another London player, Dylan Hunter, has also been reaping havoc on the league. Hunter has three goals and 11 points in his last four games.

And don't forget to check out northernlife.ca on Monday for all the crazy action from the Wolves-Colts battle.