BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
Winning face-off draws, solid penalty killing, sound defensive play, sharp goaltending and capitalizing on chances equaled a 3-0 win for the Sudbury Wolves against the visiting Oshawa Generals yesterday (Sunday) at the Sudbury Arena.
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For the Wolves, the win was huge, considering the 8-2 drubbing they took at the hands of the Brampton Battalion on Friday night.
With the win, the Wolves climbed to 4-6 on the season.
Zack Stortini won draws throughout the entire game, utilizing his sheer size and strength in the face off circle.
Patrick Ehelechner was sharp when he had to be, finishing the game with 21 saves.
The Wolves were also dynamite during short-handed situations, killing all seven of Oshawa's chances.
After a lackluster opening period, the Wolves opened the game up in the second frame.
The Wolves' Craig Voakes picked up a rebound in the slot and fired it home past Generals' goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu at 12:44.
Just 19 seconds later, the Wolves scored again.
Jordan Prevost scored his first-ever career OHL goal, when he stormed the net and jammed home the puck at 13:03 to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead.
The Wolves laid back a couple of times in the third period, but Ehelechner was there to preserve the lead. The German goalie made several key sliding pad saves throughout the game.
After allowing four goals on seven shots and being yanked in the game against Brampton Friday night, Ehelechner looked more poised and focused.
Chanse Fitzpatrick put the game away in the third period with some nifty moves at the top of the circle before blasting an absolute bullet past Beckford-Tseu at 14:17.
Wolves' head coach and general manager Mike Foligno knows his team can be successful, if his team does all the little things. He liked the defensive effort put forth by the club.
"We want to be a team that's known if we have a one-goal lead, that's enough for us to win," said Foligno.
"That's the kind of attitude we want to have leaking into the other team's dressing room that they got a goal and now, we will never win."
Foligno was impressed with Stortini's first attempt at playing centre.
"Zack really wanted to try an opportunity at centre," said Foligno.
"This guy is a big man, but he moves on that ice. He's very effective when he gets going. This allows him more of an opportunity to free wheel and to make collisions. That's a big part of his game.
Â?He gets lots of turnovers because they know that Stortini is breathing down their backs. He leaves a lot of bodies laying around and a lot of loose pucks laying around."
Foligno didn't hesitate to put Ehelechner back in the pipes.
"We knew coming back with him was a no-brainer," said Foligno.
"Anytime you have a player like that and the attitude he has, it's never a problem to put him back in because you know he's going to be outstanding. Today he was ready for the task and then some. He was really strong for us."
Wolves forward Shandor Alphonso liked the way his team played a defensive-minded game.
"I thought we played really good defensively through the first two periods and we buried a couple of our chances."
Prevost was excited after scoring his first career goal.
"It was great to finally get my first goal," said Prevost. "I want to help the team as much as I can."
Wolves veteran Ryan Hastings knows the win was crucial for the team.
"It was a huge win for the team," said Hastings. "This is a step in the right direction. We came out, played hard and got the result we wanted."
Generals Ben Eager wasn't pleased with his team's overall effort.
"I think our performance was very sub-par," said Eager. "We just got outworked and that's what they do and that's how they win their games."
The Wolves next game is Tuesday, (Oct. 21) against the Kingston Frontenacs at Sudbury Arena. Game time is 7:30 pm.
Snap Shots
-Lamb finished the game with two assists
-Fitzpatrick has scored in two straight games
-The Wolves went 0 for 5 on the power play
-The Wolves fired 36 shots at the Generals
-Chaumont leads the team with five goals and eight points
