BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
It's gut check time for the Sudbury Wolves
this weekend.
The Wolves hit the road this weekend for
three tough matches against the Guelph Storm, Erie Otters and
Brampton Battalion.
The Wolves are still looking to find
consistency on the road, which should translate into wins and
points in the standings.
Head coach and general manager Mike Foligno
knows that, to be considered an elite team, the Wolves must
start winning on the road.
"If we want to continue to be one of the top
teams in the league, then we have to continue to win," said
Foligno. "Regardless of where we play now, we have to have the
mentality of playing a disciplined game. On the road, you may
not get as many opportunities to score. You have to capitalize
on the few you do get.
"The specialty teams have to be really
proactive. The power play has to be on key and everybody has to
be working in sync and, lately, we haven't been. We have to
maintain our focus. Our penalty killing is getting stronger
every day, and it's paramount that our penalty killing works
tightly together. It all starts with a great mentality toward
our focus of playing a disciplined, competitive hockey
game."
A successful road trip this weekend against
three good teams could be just what the doctor ordered for the
Wolves to snap out of their road woes. All three weekend
opponents have winning records well above the .500 mark.
"We would like to catch some of the teams
ahead of us and pull away from some of the teams below us,"
said Foligno. "We want to keep playing a solid brand of hockey.
The guys are used to it now. It's becoming normal that they
play with a great effort."
The Wolves face the Storm tonight. Game time
is 7:30 pm.
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The Storm are second in the Midwest Division
and are one of the top scoring teams in the league.
"Guelph is playing really well," said
Foligno. "They have a lot of players with Memorial Cup
experience and a good returning core of players who know what
it takes to be one of the top teams. We will have to be at our
best to beat them. The first game is important to win. We want
to get that under our belt and move on confidently, hopefully,
to the next game and the following one."
The Wolves then face the Otters Saturday
night at 7:30 pm, followed by a Sunday afternoon tilt against
the Battalion.
"Erie is always tough to beat in their own
building, so we have to be ready," said Foligno. "We play
Brampton on Sunday, after playing them last weekend, so we kind
of know what they're like. We have to be ready for them as
well. There will be no room for error against any of the three
teams we play this weekend."
Catch all the action live on 790 CIGM with
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