With 22 wins in their first 39 games, the current edition of the Sudbury Wolves are pretty much exactly on pace to equal the victory total of the high-octane 2023-2024 squad that celebrated a “W” on 38 occasions last year.
That said, very few of this year’s triumphs have borne much resemblance at all to those that were being seen this time last year - at least not from a stylistic standpoint.
A 10-6 affair Sunday afternoon at the Sudbury Arena with the revamped Kingston Frontenacs, however, undoubtedly had many a season ticket holder wondering if they were enduring a flashback as the local juniors built up a 9-3 lead early in the third only to see the visitors narrow that gap far more than coach Scott Barney and company would have liked.
“The biggest thing is that you can’t give up six goals,” said the first year OHL bench boss after his team surrendered three power play goals in the final frame to make things a little more interesting. “That could be discipline issues, it could be tightening up the D zone.”
“Just because we score goals, it doesn’t mean you give them up,” Barney added. “In the playoffs, you know it’s going to be 2-1, 3-2 games.”
In closing out a three game week, with all encounters at home, capturing two of three and coming within thirty seconds of picking up an additional point versus the Niagara Ice Dogs, the Wolves potted no less than 21 goals, a testament to the message that Barney has preached to this group, right since training camp opened.
“Our biggest thing is the team - our culture and our identity - and that we have everybody in,” he said. “Everyone playing for each other really leads to success. You see the way some of these lines are moving the puck, not worried at all about who scores the goals.”
“If you play the right way, you’ll all be rewarded,” Barney added. “I think that was our big message tonight.”
Offensively speaking, there was a whole lot to like in this double digit explosion.
Quentin Musty suited up for his first game since November 24th, amidst all sorts of rumours that he would be on the move at the trade deadline, and responded with a five point outing. The first round pick of the San Jose Sharks has now tallied no less than 20 points in the last six games that he has hit the ice with the Wolves.
Kocha Delic buried his 20th goal of the season and in so doing, tied a franchise record by scoring in his ninth consecutive game. Nathan Villeneuve, Ondrej Molnar and Kieron Walton all chipped in with two goals apiece as a top heavy Sudbury scoring parade would see eight players enjoy multi-point afternoons, with Donovan McCoy (G + 2A), Alex Pharand (3A) and Henry Mews (2A) joining those mentioned above.
“We have four lines that can play, three sets of D that can play and we all have the same goal in mind,” noted Kieron Walton, the Winnipeg Jets’ prospect (6th rd - 2024) who trails only Liam Greentree (Windsor - 72 pts) and Michael Misa (Saginaw - 70) in the OHL scoring charts with 69 points.
“That’s how you win hockey games.”
The 6’6” 18 year-old Toronto native has long surpassed his more than respectable second year numbers (43 points in 65 games), pleased with his progress to date but knowing a great deal of work still lies ahead.
"I had a good off-season and some great opportunities,” said Walton. “The coaches have really helped me this year. I think my development has come a long way. Stops and starts: I think I can add that to my game more.”
“I was happy with my D coverage today and had a couple of good backchecks.”
From head coach right down through the entire roster, the Wolves know that this win, while nice, especially coming off a heartbreaking last-minute 5-4 setback to Niagara, is not the type of game that lengthy playoff runs are made of.
Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of their previous 21 victories and many of their close defeats were efforts that bore a remarkable resemblance to post-season play. “It’s a whole new game, with more physicality and less penalties called,” Walton reminisced, looking back on his 11 playoff games to date.
“It’s all experience, at the end of the day. If you keep getting games under your belt, you will keep getting comfortable each game.”
Even when the goals are coming in bushels, Scott Barney is not about to back off his demands to play within the structure he has implemented - not even from their leading scorer on the day.
“He (Quentin Musty) is playing the way that we need to play as a team,” said Barney. “I think that will get him rewarded, as it did tonight. It’s building the right habits so that when he goes up to the NHL, that he’s ready to play and doesn’t take a year to adjust to it.”
“He’s a great player, so it helps to have him back in the lineup,” added Walton. “He was great tonight.”
Deadlocked now with the Frontenacs for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, the Wolves embark on a tough three game road swing through southwestern Ontario later this week, facing the Windsor Spitfires (Thursday), Sarnia Sting (Saturday) and London Knights (Sunday), returning home to host Dale Hunter and company (London) on (Friday) January 24th.
