Wolves sweep 67's in opening round of playoffs

The Sudbury Wolves completed their upset of the second-place Ottawa 67's March 31, sweeping the opening round of the OHL playoffs 4-0.

The teams met up in Ottawa for the fourth game in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals. Despite trailing by a goal heading into the final period, the Wolves clawed their way to a 4-3 lead, adding an empty-net goal in the final seven seconds for the win.

The 67's dominated the early part of the first period, taking a one-goal lead five minutes in. The Wolves also got into some penalty trouble including a five minute major and game misconduct to captain Marcus Foligno for a check to the head penalty at 12:29 of the opening frame. However, during the penalty kill, Michael Sgarbossa brought the Wolves even on a shorthanded goal. The 67's answered with a power play goal before the end of the period, taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

The second period saw the 67's taking penalties, however, the Wolves were unable to capitalize on their power play opportunities and the Ottawa squad opened a two-goal lead at 14:05. Not ready to back down, the Wolves cut the lead in half with an unassisted shorthanded goal from rookie Joshua Leivo at 17:10.

Trailing 3-2 heading into the third period, the Wolves found their next gear and put on the pressure. Sgarbossa netted his second goal of the game at the 5:37 mark to tie the game 3-3, before Josh McFadden scored his fourth of the series to give the Wolves a 4-3 lead less than a minute later.

The Wolves fended off the last minute pressure from the 67's before Eric O'Dell dumped the puck into the empty net to give the Wolves a 5-3 win, along with a ticket to round two.

Starting netminder Alain Valiquette backstopped the team once again, making 34 saves for the win. His 67's counterpart, Petr Mrazek was once again in top form, making 34 saves in the loss.

The win marks the first time the Wolves have won a playoff series since 2007.

The Wolves will now have a little bit of a break before the start of the Eastern Conference semifinals, against the No. 1 seeded Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. The Majors defeated the Belleville Bulls 4-0 in their Eastern Conference quarter-final.

The Wolves will open the series on the road and will return home for the second game of the series. Dates and times will be announced by the OHL by Monday. Check back to NorthernLife.ca for the second-round playoff schedule.