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Wolves face two tough divisional rivals this weekend

BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW [email protected] The Sudbury Wolves host two key Central Division opponents this weekend, and it could mean a move up in the standings if the Wolves get the job done right.
BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW

The Sudbury Wolves host two key Central Division opponents this weekend, and it could mean a move up in the standings if the Wolves get the job done right.

On Friday, the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Mississauga IceDogs, storm the Elgin Street barn.

Game time at the Sudbury Arena is 7:30 pm.

The IceDogs feature a dangerous bunch of forwards, led by Patrick O'Sullivan, that can put the puck in the net.

"We're looking for this team to respond," said head coach Mike Foligno. "We have some tough rivals coming in, and we have to take advantage of the opportunity to move up the ladder in our division."

The Wolves have to avoid the run-and-gun style game and stick to the basics for success.

"We can't get caught up in run-and-gun games," said Foligno, alluding to the recent 7-3 blasting the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds laid on the Wolves on Tuesday night at the Sudbury Arena. "When we have played our best games, it's been really solid defence. It's something we have to get back to. That's the key for hockey club with the goaltending, defence and forwards that we have. Three or four goals should be enough for us to win games. We don't want to get into a run-and-gun game against Mississauga, especially when they have players like O'Sullivan. We just have to play a physical, very defensive style of hockey right now."

This is the second meeting between the two clubs. The IceDogs won the first game, 4-3 in overtime, on Oct. 11. Bobby Chaumont had two goals, while, Ben Pouliot scored the other goal.

As of Northern Life Thursday press time, the Wolves sit in third spot in the Central Division, with a 8-7-2-1 record.

They play the Barrie Colts tonight, in Barrie.

Last season, after 18 games, the Wolves only had 10 points. So far this season, the Wolves have 19 points.

A much younger team than last year, Foligno doesn't think his troops are under-achieving despite all the pre-season hype.

"We are a lot younger than we were last year, so there's going to be mistakes made," said Foligno. "The key is to learn from those mistakes quickly. We are going to have our setbacks, but we have to make sure our setbacks don't take over the team and hurt the good things we are doing. We have a good home record, and now we want to develop our road game and get it back to where it should be."

The secret of winning isn't hard to figure out, but it takes plenty to carry it out.

"We have to show up every game and play as hard as we can,"said Foligno. "When we do that, we can compete against anybody in the league."

The Wolves return to defend their honour on Sunday afternoon against the Toronto St. Michael's Majors. Game time is 2 pm.

This marks the first time Toronto has played in Sudbury since they put the Wolves out of the first round of the 2003-04 playoffs in seven games.

This will also be the second meeting between the two teams. Toronto won the first match, 4-3. on Oct. 10. Kyle Lamb, Chaumont, and Stefan Blaho scored for the Wolves that day.



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