BY SCOTT HADDOW
The Sudbury Wolves failed to capitalize on 10
power play chances en route to a tough 4-2 loss to Central
Division foe Brampton on Sunday afternoon at the Sudbury
Arena.
 |
| name="valign"
top >
Ben Pouliot and Graham McNabb
battle for the puck.
more photos>> |
Brampton took Sudbury by surprise when, just
33 seconds into the game, Luch Aquino buried the puck to give
Brampton a 1-0 lead.
Skillful play took a back seat to rugged play
as both teams threw their bodies around with reckless
abandon.
Numerous big hits along the boards kept fans
buzzing and also kept the penalty box doors swinging open
constantly.
Sudbury squared the affair 1:09 into the
second period when Kevin Baker, who was on a two-on-one with
Ben Pouliot, swooped in and drove home Pouliot's rebound
shot into the net.
The goal was a short-handed effort.
The physical play continued in the second
frame as both teams looked for that tiny opening to blow open
the tight game.
The rough play exploded when Ryan Hastings
dropped the mitts with John Seymour for a wild scrap early in
the second period. Hastings landed some hard punches before
driving Seymour into the ice.
Brampton seemed to get the spark from the
fight as not soon after, Aquino ripped a one timer, on the
power play, past Kevin Beech to make it 2-1 at 15:18 of the
second.
In the third period, the Battalion took full
advantage of a rare Marc Staal cough up and Aquino skated in
and blew a hard slapper by Beech to make it 3-1 at 11:07.It was
a short-handed goal.
With time dwindling, Pouliot made things
interesting when he wired the puck by Daren Machesney at 14:50
to make it 3-2.
The Wolves pulled Beech with 1:34 left in the
game, but the plan back fired when Wojtek Wolski stormed up the
ice and dumped the puck into the yawning cage to make it
4-2.
With that, fans began to quickly pour out of
their seats.
Sudbury took a few more stabs at scoring
another goal, but Brampton wouldn't yeild and handed the
Wolves their second straight defeat.
The win allowed Brampton to clinch a play off
berth.
Wolves head coach and GM Mike Foligno gave
credit to Brampton's goalie Machesney, who thwarted 29 of
31 shots fired his way.
"I thought we worked really hard, we
just ran into a pretty hot goaltender," said the bench
boss. "(He) played very well for them. Maybe at times, we
could have shot the puck a bit more. They were blocking a lot
of shots. It was one of those hard-fought games and it could
have gone either way."
Foligno wanted more from his puck stopper,
Kevin Beech, who made 21 saves in the loss.
"We expect a little bit better out of
Kevin," said Foligno. "We're getting down to
playoff games were goaltenders some nights have to win you a
game. Our goaltenders have to be guys that we count
on."
Brampton head coach Stan Butler was obviously
pleased with a victory over a Central Division foe and praised
the efforts of Wolski and Aquino. The win squared the season
series with both teams taking four wins each.
"It was a big game for us and we needed
to win it," said Butler. "Our best players were our
best players today. When I say that I mean Wolski, Aquino and
Machesney. They were all good and that really helped. Wolski
and Aquino were dominant and that made the
difference."
Foligno wants to see his squad gain some
health as the Wolves get ready to play the Barrie Colts on
Thursday night in Barrie. The Wolves played without without two
main pieces to their puzzle in forwards Devin DiDiomete and
Matt Dias, who account for a lot of support scoring and
grit.
"We...want to get healthier," said
Foligno. "We got some guys still on the injury list that
we're hoping to get back soon. At the same time, when
we're playing these top clubs, you start noticing some of
that depth that isn't there and needed on our hockey
club.
Other guys are getting opportunities. We
can't just rely on one line or a couple of players to do
the scoring. We have to work a lot harder."
The Wolves will look to get a home win on
Friday night when they host John Tavares and the Oshawa
Generals. Game time is 7:30 pm. Sudbury then plays Windsor on
Sunday afternoon.
Game time at the Sudbury Arena is 2 pm.
