BY SCOTT HADDOW
The Sudbury Wolves believe in themselves and that has propelled them into the second round of the playoffs for the third straight season.
The Wolves were a confident bunch in the opening round against Mississauga, disposing of the highest scoring team in the OHL in five games.
It was a total team effort as all the players contributed to the impressive series win over the favoured IceDogs.
Sudbury will need everyone on the same page again and the team will likely have to play even better as they face their most bitter rival, the Barrie Colts, in round two.
Game one goes Thursday in Barrie at 7:30 pm. It will be a Sudbury Saturday Night for game two as the Wolves will host Barrie Saturday evening at the Sudbury Arena with game time set for 7:30 pm. (See game box at end of story for complete schedule and stats.)
The Wolves played extremely well against Mississauga and all the players know it.
"Everyone took their game to another level," said head coach and GM Mike Foligno. "Our leaders were exceptional...guys like Marc Staal, Nick Foligno, Andrew Self, Jonathan D'Aversa and others who have been in this league for a few years showed they were hungry and wanted to win.
"Everyone not only raised their level of play, but also raised their expectations of themselves and that made the difference against Mississauga. They went out and made it happen...they got the job done."
The Wolves showed the killer instinct by dumping the IceDogs in game five, the first chance Sudbury got to eliminate Mississauga and move on to the second round.
"Having that killer instinct is important, especially in the playoffs," said Foligno. "The guys believe in themselves.
"We had a lot of respect for Mississauga and I think that's why we played them so hard. The guys are hungry to move on. We have to keep playing this intense hockey to keep moving forward."
Sudbury was rode the wave created by Staal's commanding performance against Mississauga. The six-foot-four defender was a dominating force, providing unmatched leadership, big hits and highlight reel goals.
"Marc played some of the best hockey of his junior career," said Foligno. "Absolutely he did. He has shown everybody he can play in the NHL.
"He's not playing at the junior level...he's playing like a pro and that's why he can do the things he does and do them so well. I don't think there was a Mississauga player who didn't feel the wrath of Marc Staal. Our team is following him."
Foligno also served up some praise for rugged forward Andrew Self, who surprised a lot of people with four goals, including two game winners, and seven points against the IceDogs.
"Andrew went into the weight room and started to do the extra things that count," said Foligno. "He came in on his days off and worked on his skating, speed and game.
"It's paying dividends for him now. He lost five or six pounds and it's made him faster, but he's also kept his strength. He's physical and has a lot more endurance. He was a real catalyst in the first round and he's excited to play Barrie."
Sudbury gleaned plenty from the first round victory.
"We learned to fully believe in ourselves and our ability as a team," said Foligno. "We earned the right to be in the second round through discipline, self belief, hard work and strong play. We feel we can beat Barrie."
The Colts owned the Wolves during the regular season, winning six of the eight games.
Sudbury knows what it has to do.
"Our defence has to show its strength at all times and, again, be dominate," said Foligno. "We have to keep our penalties to a bare minimum because it gives our team the best chance to win.
"Right now is the first time all season were we have our top three lines consistently contributing and even our kid line showed good jump and played great defence in the first round."
Barrie is expecting an even tougher test from Sudbury.
Head coach Marty Williamson kept a close eye on Sudbury in the series against Mississauga.
"It should be a very even series," said the bench boss. "I watched two of Sudbury's games and they're were impressive...playing good hockey, which is what we expected from them all year.
"Marc Staal was wonderful in the series. I see a lot of similarities between the two clubs when I look down the lineups. Both teams have quality goaltending, a strong defence and guys who can score.
"We pride ourselves on good defence, so does Sudbury. I would be shocked if this series didn't go six or seven games."
Game 1 - Thursday, April 5 at Barrie at 7:30
Game 2 - Saturday, April 7 at Sudbury at 7:30
Game 3 - Monday, April 9 at Barrie at 7:30
Game 4 - Wednesday, April 11 at Sudbury at 7:30
Game 5 - Friday, April 13 at Barrie at 7:30*
Game 6 - Sunday, April 15 at Sudbury at 7:30*
Game 7 - Monday, April 16 at Barrie at 7:30*
*If necessary
Top three leading scorers (games played, goals, assists and points)
Sudbury
Nick Foligno 5-4-5-9
Justin Donati 5-4-5-9
Andrew Self 5-4-3-7
Barrie
Hunter Tremblay 4-4-2-6
Bryan Little 4-3-3-6
Nick Plastino 4-2-2-4
