BY SCOTT HADDOW
It was time to break out the brooms for diehard Sudbury Wolves fans Wednesday night as the red-hot Wolves beat the Barrie Colts 4-2 to win their Eastern Conference semi-final in the first playoff sweep in the club's 35-year history.
The Wolves now advance to the Ontario Hockey League's Eastern Conference Championships against Belleville.
It's the first time Sudbury has made the Eastern Conference Championship since the 1994-95 season. The Wolves lost to Detroit Junior Red Wings in game seven that season.
 
Wednesday's game went back and forth from the opening faceoff.
Overage sniper Justin Donati was the big hero as he scored two goals, including the game winner at the 11:42 mark of the third period.
The goal was reviewed by the judges to see if the net had come off its moorings before the puck crossed the line. The officials reviewed videotape for about five minutes and Sudbury fans went totally crazy.
The noise was deafening and electrifying.
Nick Foligno and Matt Dias, into an open net, rounded out the scoring for Sudbury.
Wolves goalie Sebastian Dahm turned in another strong performance, thwarting 36 shots fired his way.
Naturally, Wolves head coach and GM Mike Foligno had high praise for his gutsy troops.
"Our guys were really hungry for this," said the coach. "They really wanted this to happen. We hit some momentum and just carried it forward. It seems like every game we just got better and better...hungrier and hungrier.
"I am really proud of this group of players. These guys are working hard everyday. They can't wait to get on the ice...they're having so much fun."
Foligno also gave a nod to the fans, who have gone bonkers in every home game, creating a thrilling environment.
"We need a community behind us to do what we're doing," said Foligno. "When the players come out and see a jam-packed house...nothing gets the adrenaline pumping more than that. It's awesome and a great feeling for our players...our fans...for the community."
Sudbury never got rattled or lost their strict focus in the series, which Foligno deemed as the real difference maker in the series.
"Nothing really rocked us...or took away our motivation and confidence away," stated the bench boss. "If you're going to beat a team that is well coached like Barrie is and plays such a strong game, you need everyone on board and we had everyone on board."
Breaks, which traditionally have gone the other way, seemed to go the Wolves way this series as well.
"It wasn't easy to do," said Foligno. "You have to find ways to get the wins and we found ways.
"We either created good plays or got breaks here and there. It's nice to see the breaks go the Sudbury Wolves way for a change. When you're working hard, you get those breaks. We know we have more work to do. We have to prepare for Belleville. There's still some great games yet to be played."
Donati, who was acquired at the trade deadline for Jessie Messier, a prospect and draft picks, delivered on his billing as a big time sniper with two key goals in the clinching contest.
He quickly racked his brain trying to think if he had every scored two more bigger goals in his life.
"I don't think so...definitely not," said the 20-year-old. "I got two great feeds from my linemates...I just had to put it in the open net, so it's more their doing than mine."
The Wolves were huge underdogs in the series as Barrie finished 30 points ahead of them in the standings.
"I guess we proved our critics wrong," said Donati. "We got a great bunch of guys that believe in themselves and believe in the team. We stuck to the systems and the systems worked. It was a great team effort."
Sweeping Barrie injects even more enthusiasm into an already pumped up squad.
"I guess (it gives us) a pretty big one," said Donati. "We just took out the top rated team in the conference. The confidence is running high right now and hopefully we take it into the next series."
Donati will now face his twin brother Tyler, who plays for Belleville.
"I'm not to worried about it...it's a team game," said Donati. "We just need to come out with a 60-minute effort every game."
Wolves captain Marc Staal was all smiles after the big win as he knows it meant so much to the rabid fan base.
"It's an amazing feeling," said Staal. "Everybody worked really hard to give the city something to cheer about. It was unbelievable. It's been a fun ride and hopefully we can make it longer. To win in front of these fans makes it that much more special for us."
Confidence and character are now deeply entrenched in the team after beating Barrie, especially the three overtime victories.
"From the first series, we were playing well," said Staal. "We had a lot of confidence. Even going into this series we even had more confidence. Playing under that kind of pressure...will only help us in the next round....to get those three overtime wins were huge."
