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.

WOLVES WOULD BE FINE WITH STOPPING THE PENDULUM
For the past seven games, the Sudbury Wolves have followed up a win with a loss – and vice versa. With their last outing sitting as a solid 5-3 road victory over the Barrie Colts last Saturday, the locals would be more than happy to string a few wins together this weekend, hosting the Guelph Storm (6-3-0-0) on Friday before heading east along Highway 17 to face the North Bay Battalion on Sunday.

A SUDBURY – STORM AFFAIR THAT MIGHT BUCK THE TREND
These two franchises have met on 163 previous occasions – the Storm were launched in 1991 following the move of what was originally the Toronto Marlboros (1972-1989) and the Dukes of Hamilton (1989-1991) – with only two shutouts on the books in all of that time.

And while we have already made note this year of just how potent the Sudbury attack might be, the fact is that the Friday matchup with feature two of the OHL’s top four goaltenders in terms of goals against average: Brayden Gillispie – Guelph - #1 at 1.88 in seven games to date; Jakub Vondras – Sudbury - # 4 at 2.24 in eight games to date.

The Storm had a three game winning streak snapped thanks to a 2-0 road loss to the Oshawa Generals last Sunday and will be making a stop in North Bay Thursday prior to meeting up with coach Ken MacKenzie and company just 24 hours later.

SECOND OF EIGHT AND FIRST OF THREE IN THREE WEEKS
Meeting in their second of eight scheduled encounters this year, Sudbury and North Bay faceoff Sunday for the first time since opening weekend when the Battalion rode a 27-save performance from Dom DiVincentiis to a 2-1 win in the nickel city.

The Wolves had taken a 1-0 lead into the third period of play in that encounter thanks to a Nicholas Yearwood goal in the first but the visitors came storming back in the third, pulling even early on a power play marker by Dalyn Wakely and escaping with the win thanks to a late snipe by Ihnat Pazii that surprised Vondras, short side.

With Sudbury and North Bay deadlocked at 12 points apiece and sitting second in the Central Division, six points back of the Mississauga Steelheads, a winning record in this rivalry series might be enough to tip the scales one way or the other. The Wolves vets should have plenty of motivation for retribution on their mind as the Troops have pretty much owned the Pack the past two seasons, winning 16 of the 20 head to head battles between the two teams.