BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
It was exactly the kind of weekend the
Sudbury Wolves were looking for.
The Wolves all but guaranteed themselves a
playoff position by playing some inspired hockey during another
hectic three games in three nights.
With the playoffs just around the corner, and
several teams jostling for playoff positions, the Wolves earned
five out of a possible six points to further cement their
status as a playoff team.
On Friday, the Wolves managed a 1-1 draw with
the Plymouth Whalers. Kevin Beech got the start in goal, and
made 32 saves in the game. Ryan Hastings supplied the offence,
notching a power play goal with just over a minute remaining in
regulation time.
However, Plymouth tied things up with less
than 30 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
Neither team managed to score the winner in the extra
five-minute session.
It was the first time in their past 10 road
games against Plymouth that the Wolves managed to grab a
point.
On Saturday, the Wolves roamed into Saginaw
to scrap it out with the Spirit.
The Wolves won 3-2. Rafal Martynowski again
led the way for the Wolves, scoring two goals, including the
game winner just 2:57 into the third period.
Devin DiDiomete scored the other goal for the
Wolves.
Once again, the Wolves received stellar
goaltending from Beech, who thwarted 22 of 24 Saginaw
shots.
On Sunday, the Wolves bounced the Sarnia
Sting 4-3 in a record-breaking game. Local product and fan
favourite Bobby Chaumont played in his 267th straight game,
eclipsing the old Ontario Hockey League mark for consecutive
games played (266) set by Kingston's Mike Oliveria.
Chaumont now sits third in games played for
the Wolves, behind Jamie Matthews, who played 301 games, and
Mike Gazdic, who donned the Wolves' uniform for 286
games.
The Wolves got goals from Ryan McDonough,
Zack Stortini, Ben Pouliot and DiDiomete. Pouliot scored the
winner late in the third period of a breakaway.
Patrick Ehelechner started in net for the
Wolves, and he made 24 saves for his 22nd win of the season.
Ehelechner won 22 games all last season for the Wolves.
Despite the productive weekend, the Wolves
are still in fourth spot in the Central Division and fifth
overall in the Eastern Conference with a record of 29-23-5-6,
good for 69 points.
The Wolves square off against one of their
biggest rivals, the Barrie Colts, this Friday at the Sudbury
Arena. Game time is 7:30 pm.
