As part of my role as team statistician for the Sudbury Wolves, my job description includes the preparation of weekly media notes, featuring various tidbits of information regarding upcoming games.

While these notes have generally been confined to circulating among media types and club officials, it seemed likely that fans of the local OHL team might also have an interest in the odds and ends that I might come across on a weekly basis.

STILL A LONG WAY FROM A SURE THING
Yes, the Sudbury Wolves are trending in the right direction, and yes, the team currently finds itself owning a playoff spot, with the seventh place team only three points ahead of the Pack. But with the Oshawa Generals (9th place) just one back of the Wolves, coach Derek MacKenzie and company are hardly in a position to breathe easy.

A BATTLE WITH THE BATTALION IS A GIVEN
After being manhandled, to a degree, by the Central Division leading North Bay Battalion in their first two meetings of the year (Sudbury suffered losses of 7-3 and 7-4), the Wolves came through with a huge effort in their last encounter, earning a hard-fought 3-2 win with goals from David Goyette, Alex Pharand and Landon McCallum and a 31-save performance from rookie netminder Nate Krawchuk.

It remains to be seen if coach MacKenzie opts to give the Thunder Bay native a second straight shot at the OHL powerhouse or turns to recently signed Québec product Kevyn Brassard for a third consecutive start. The Wolves won two of their three in three set last weekend but will face, on Wednesday, at home, a North Bay crew whose only loss in their past five games was the loss to Sudbury – and who sit with 53 points, tied for second overall in the OHL with the London Knights and behind only the Ottawa 67’s (58 pts).

ZACHARIE GIROUX MAKES A LONG AWAITED VISIT
Though he now has more than 100 OHL games under his belt, local product Zacharie Giroux has to go back to his second ever game of major junior hockey in December of 2019 to recall the feeling of playing in his hometown. And much like his brother Damien, the now veteran centre with 32 points in 36 games seems to enjoy the friendly confines of the Sudbury Arena, having recorded an assist in that outing more than three years ago.

The Flint Firebirds will make their only stop in Sudbury this coming Friday, with the fourth team in the West (19-15-2-1) more or less see-sawing between wins and losses in recent weeks and the Wolves looking for a season sweep of the Birds. On October 8th, Sudbury rode two goal efforts from both Quentin Musty and Alex Pharand to a 4-2 win, squeezing a road win between losses to both Windsor (5-4) and Saginaw (5-2).

SEASON SERIES LEAD AT STAKE BETWEEN SUDBURY AND THE SAULT
The final game of the week sees the Soo Greyhounds making their second trip to the nickel city, picking up a 2-1 win in their early November trek but beaten 7-5 when the Wolves travelled west at the very end of December.

The offensive versatility of the locals was on full display in that encounter as Nick DeGrazia, currently riding a five-game point streak (and eight of nine) buried his first ever OHL hat-trick, with leading scorer David Goyette chipping in with three points (2G-1A), part of a 11-game run (25 points) that was snapped in Hamilton last weekend for the Seattle Krakken prospect.

Finally, Landon McCallum also stepped up in the Lock City to the tune of four assists. With 15 points in his last 12 games, the 2019 first round pick (15th overall) is inching closer to the point-a-game plateau (32 points in 35 games – 3rd on the team).