The Sudbury Wolves ran into a red-hot goalie in Game one of their Eastern Conference Championship, and lost 3-2 to the Belleville Bulls.
Belleville goalie Kevin Lalande was sensational as he stopped 37 of the 39 shots fired his way to lead his team to a huge victory and take a 1-0 series lead.
Lalande made the difference in the third period as Sudbury threw an all-out assault at Belleville to try and take the game. The Wolves peppered Lalande with 21 shots alone in the third frame, but only managed to score once.
The game didn't start well for Sudbury when Belleville's Matt Beleskey opened the scoring just 1:31 into the first period.
Devin DiDiomete banged in a slot goal at 10:02 of the second period to tie the game at 1-1.
The two teams exchanged early goals in the third period as Belleville's Shawn Matthias tallied at 4:03, followed by a goal by Marc Staal at 7:44.
Sudbury ran into penalty trouble mid-way through the final frame and it was costly.
Beleskey ripped his second goal of the game at 10:48 on the power play to put the Bulls up for good.
Sudbury continued its attack on Lalande, but he didn't fold under the pressure.
Sudbury goalie Sebastian Dahm was solid, making 27 saves.
Wolves head coach and GM Mike Foligno is hoping his gunners can find their mark after blowing numerous scoring opportunities.
"I thought, maybe, we didn't play our best game tonight," said Sudbury head coach and GM Mike Foligno. "We had some great scoring chances…it was just a matter of not being focused enough to finish."
Wolves' captain Staal liked the way his team played and knows they took a lot of positives out of the loss.
"We had kind of a slow start," said Staal. "We played really hard all game. We had a number of scoring chances we didn't bury on. The fact we were still getting the chances, and the guys were working hard to get those chances, is a good thing."
The Wolves know they will have to be more efficient if they expect to score on Lalande.
"He was pretty sharp," said Foligno. "Especially early on in the game. He kept them in there for a while. He played a solid game and allowed them the opportunity to come out of this game with a win."
The Wolves don't plan to pack it in and are eager to start Game Two.
"(We) just have to get refocused really quickly," said the bench boss. "It's not a time to get down. Overall, I thought it was a pretty well played game. Them scoring on that power play at the end hurt us a bit. They got the lead and…didn't relinquish it."
Sudbury isn't going to alter their game too much for Game Two.
"We have to forget about this game…take as much positives out of it as we can. (We) want to steal one on their ice…(we'll) play just as hard, if not harder in the next game."
Despite the win, Bulls head coach and GM George Burnett knows his team can play better and expects them to.
"We didn't put any pressure on their defence at all…no sustained pressure," said Burnett.  " For us to be successful, we certainly have to make their defence work a lot harder. We have to get into those dirty areas of the ice much more successfully. Kevin Lalande gave us an opportunity (to win) tonight and we took advantage of it."
Scoring early on was a huge boost for Belleville.
"We definitely wanted to come out and have a good start," said Beleskey, who scored the game's first goal. "Scoring on my first shift of the game is a good way of doing that. We got lucky that way, but then we slipped a bit. I think we played great in the third period, and hopefully we can build off that."
Game notes
-Round one of the Justin Donati (Sudbury) versus Tyler Donati
(Belleville) twins battle went to Tyler as he recorded two
assists and was a major factor. Justin was held pointless.
-Sudbury received just three power plays, while Belleville
received six.
-3,100 fans filled the Yardmen Arena to watch the game.
-Staal's goal was his fifth of the playoffs.
-DiDiomete's goal was his third of the post season.
-Nick Foligno missed two breakaway chances, including one
short-handed.
-Staal is now third in defenceman scoring in the playoffs with
five goals and 11 points in 10 games. He's also tied for first
overall, with Belleville's Nick Pageau, in plus/minus with a
+12 rating.
