Wolves Win Dog Fight
The Sudbury Wolves exploded for 7 goals en route to a 7-2 drubbing of the Niagara IceDogs on Friday night in front of 3,848 fans at the Elgin Street Icehouse. The win moved the Wolves back to .500 with seven wins and seven losses to date.
BRODY SILK recorded his first OHL hattrick to lead the Wolves offensively while MICHAEL KANTOR recorded two goals. JOSH LEIVO and DOMINIK KAHUN rounded out the scoring for the Wolves. FRANK CORRADO had his best offensive night in the OHL recording five assists. CORRADO vaulted himself into second place in scoring among OHL defencemen behind DOUGIE HAMILTON of the IceDogs. LEIVO and KAHUN finished the game with a goal and three assists each. The two skilled forwards have definitely found some chemistry of late.
JOEL VIENNEAU was outstanding in goal for the Wolves blocking 42 of 44 shots that he faced. The 20 year old veteran stopped a number of point-blank shots by IceDog sharp-shooters. VIENNEAU was especially sharp in the first two periods where the IceDogs peppered the Wolves’ goaltender with 30 shots. VIENNEAU has played very well of late and has lowered his goals against average down to 3.02. His save percentage has also improved to .911.
NICK BAPTISTE also had a strong performance for the Wolves and recorded an assist. BAPTISTE used his speed all game long to pressure the IceDog defencemen and force turnovers. BAPTISTE was named the Dickies Hardest Worker of the Game. The Ottawa native had one of his best games as a Wolf and there were plenty of NHL scouts on hand at the arena tonight to witness the power forward’s solid effort. BAPTISTE won a number of key face-offs for the Wolves as the 6’2″ forward was given a shot at the centre position as well.
The Wolves led 2-1 after the first period and 4-2 after two frames before scoring three unanswered goals in the third period. DOMINIK KUBALIK came to the rescue of a fellow teammate late in the third period which motivated the Wolves’ faithful to give the Czech import player a standing ovation as he left the ice. KUBALIK, 17, used his speed all game long and capped-off a solid effort with his late game inspiration.
NATHAN CULL made his debut in a Wolves’ uniform. Despite being able to get on the scoresheet, the Thunder Bay native worked hard all game and threw a number of hard checks. CULL’s physical play was welcomed by the Wolves’ coaching staff and his teammates.
The Wolves power play was effective tonight going 3 for 4 with the man advantage. The IceDogs were 2 for 6 with the man advantage. The Wolves will now head back on the road against the #1 team in the OHL – the Owen Sound Attack on Saturday night. On Sunday, the Wolves will travel to Mississauga to face former Wolf KRISTOFF KONTOS and the MISSISSAUGA STEELHEADS who have been playing terrific hockey as of late. Follow the Wolves on the road with KFM 95.5 with STEW KERNAN calling the play-by-play.
