Wolves hit Christmas break in good shape

BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW

As one of the youngest teams in the OHL, and carrying some of the biggest expectations lumped onto a franchise, the 2004-05 Sudbury Wolves hit the Christmas break at 16-15-3-2, good for third spot in the Central Division with 37 points.

This represents a significant improvement over last season after 36 games, which saw the Wolves struggling with a 11-19-3-3 record, good for 28 points.

The Wolves continue to be competitive in almost every game, but still struggle with consistent scoring, taking bad penalties and losing on the road.

However, there are many bright points, including the dramatic 5-2 win over the London Knights on Dec. 17 that halted the Knights' OHL-record undefeated streak at 31 games, in which London went 29-0-2. It leads one to believe the Wolves could be primed for another terrific second half, like they did last season, in the always tough OHL.

Rafal Martynowski has re-emerged as a true presence by scoring highlight reel goals and making sacrifices to help the team. The scrappy winger struggled for the first two months of the season.

Patrick Ehelechner is also starting to round into form, which would be as one the premier goalies in the league.

Rookies such as Ben Pouliot, Ryan McDonough, Nick Foligno and Devin Didiomete have all stepped up to the challenges of a demanding OHL schedule.

Although Wolves' head coach and general manager Mike Foligno is pleased with his team's results thus far, he will be wanting more from the players during the second half, especially as the stretch run to the playoffs commences.

"We had a good start and got people excited about our hockey club," said Foligno. "We opened up a lot of eyes throughout the league. We have some potential here and a good talent level. We have some great developing players, especially our defence corps, which I think will get better and better as the season progresses. Our job is to keep teaching everyday and developing these players because we want to have a better second half than the first half. The players are realizing the importance of playing a team game, and that's going to make us a better hockey club."

As with every season, the 2004-05 version of the Wolves has a few surprises.

"Obviously, the most outstanding player recognized by many people is Ben Pouliot," said Foligno. "We knew he would be a better player this year, but I don't think anyone could imagine he would be this good. He's a high caliber player. Ryan McDonough has also had success. He's not the biggest player, but plays very hard and intense. He's a danger around the net. He's just going to get better and better."

Foligno made no bones about the fact he wants more productive scoring for the second half, which means the big guns such as Bobby Chaumont, Zack Stortini, the aforementioned Pouliot and McDonough, as well as Martynowski and Nick Foligno will have to be ready to answer the challenge.

"I want to see two well-rounded scoring lines," said Foligno. "I want more consistency out of our first and second lines. On any given night you have Pouliot, Stortini, Martynowski, Chaumont, Blaho, McDonough and Foligno out there and those guys really bring a lot of scoring ability. Those guys have to show up every night and get us on the board somehow, someway. We get output from everybody, but these seven guys are our main guys on the road and at home. They have to score."

Foligno just doesn't want the offence shape up in the second half, he wants the defence to also step up their play.

"I would like to see our defence also play with more consistency," said Foligno. "I want them to further understand their role and pay the price even more to work harder down low and maintaining their focus on playing defence. It will help us improve."

Foligno will also be looking for certain players to put the team on their backs and carry the load down the stretch.

Here's his thoughts on a few players.

On Martynowski: "He's highly skilled and can break a game wide-open. He doesn't train hard in the summer. He didn't come as conditioned as well as he could have been. He had to get into top playing shape. He needs to make a better commitment to the game. He has the opportunity to be one of the best players in this league with that stronger commitment."

On Nick Foligno: "He's been strong at both ends of the rink. His penalty kill instincts are strong. He needs to work on overall body strength and shooting the puck more. He's also a great play maker."

On Stortini: "He's our heart and soul. His offensive abilities may not be there every night, but he brings many other parts of the game every night. His physical play and fighting abilities and defensive play have been good. He wasn't pleased with his play in the first half. He wants to contribute more in the second half by working even harder and being a heads-up player."

On Patrick Ehelechner: "This is one area where we thought we'd get stronger play from. Patrick feels he has let down the team in some games, and considers only a handful of games where he felt he was a solid performer. We're patient with him because we know what he's capable of. We want a bigger and better second half from him, and steal some games for us."

A trade to shake things up could be a reality.

"We're no different from any other team," said Foligno. "We're always talking to other teams, and we are looking for opportunities to make our team better. We will not make a trade just for trade's sake. We want stability here. We want the players to know we make commitments to our players and keep them."

Nonetheless, the second half is sure to be filled with plenty of emotional games.

"We have to stay healthy," said Foligno. "That will be key for us. We will be playing hard every game. The fans have been great and we thank them. There's a lot of pride on this team, and the guys want to win."

The Wolves are back on the ice Wednesday, Dec. 29 against the Kitchener Rangers. Game time at the Sudbury Arena is 7:30 pm.