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Wolves Media Notes - January 16th, 2025
2025-01-16

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.

AN INTIMIDATING ITINERARY OF SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO FOES
The Windsor – Sarnia – London road trip is a daunting one at the best of times for the Sudbury Wolves, given the mileage that is covered on their journey to the southwestern corner of the province. But throw in the fact that the local juniors are making the trip in mid-January and that two of those opponents occupy the top two spots in the Western Conference standings, and one can sense “gut-check” time for coach Scott Barney and company this weekend.
TURNING THE PAGE ON A GAME TO FORGET
Many a Wolves fan will recall an 11-7 loss at the hands of a Windsor Spitfires team that finished with the second worst record in the OHL last year as being ever so symptomatic of what ailed the 2023-2024 nickel city crew.

Thankfully, not only do only a small handful of players remain on the team that will start a three games in four nights stint on Thursday, but of that group, Quentin Musty, Nathan Villeneuve, Kieron Walton, Alex Pharand and Kocha Delic combined to amass 20 points as Sudbury downed Windsor 9-3 earlier this year up north.

Despite only one victory to show for their last 15 visits to the border city, the Wolves will look to continue a pretty solid run that has accounted for five wins in their past seven games. Their last triumph in Windsor came on March 1st (2018) when the visitors overcame a 2-0 deficit, netted four straight goals (Drake Pilon; Liam Ross; Drake Pilon; Nolan Hutcheson) and held on for a 4-3 win.

A RELATIVELY RECENT SUDBURY SURGE VERSUS THE STING
With seven wins to show in their last nine encounters with the Sarnia Sting (whether at home or away), the Sudbury Wolves have moved out to a slight lead in the all-time franchise match-up records, boosting their mark to 28-25-0-3-1 versus the crew that entered the OHL in 1994.

Sarnia and Sudbury have captured a sweep of the two-game season series on seven occasions apiece, though a 5-1 Sting win over the Wolves back on October 18th finds the Pack playing for the season tie this year. A 10-3 Sudbury victory last March at home marked the first time that double digits had ever been reached in this 30-year battle, though mid-level scoring games typically have been the norm.

In fact, Sarnia has never shutout the Wolves in 57 games to date while Sudbury has turned the trick twice, both 4-0 victories, in 2004 and 2009 with goaltenders Patrick Ehelechner and Alain Valiquette earning the whitewash wins.

ENDING THE KNIGHT-MARE – PART II
A 9-2 Sudbury Wolves win over the London Knights on November 24th (2023) at the Old Barn on Elgin Street snapped a 20-game losing skid for the northern crew against the perennial league powerhouse. Now, the Wolves will look to end the home ice dominance of the team that boasts the best record in the Ontario Hockey League, at the moment.

London has beaten Sudbury 11 straight times at home, though they required overtime to do so last season. Goals by Quentin Musty, Nolan Collins and Evan Konyen had Sudbury clinging to a 3-2 lead late when Ruslan Gazizov tied the contest with 1:35 to play before netting the game-winning goal with just 11 ticks remaining on the clock in OT.

The extra point for the overtime loss allowed Sudbury to claim the season series in 2023-2024 for the first time since they swept the Knights in two games back in 2010-2011. That particular season series would see an unlikely tandem emerge as goal scoring heroes in the Wolves’ wins as a hat-trick from Eric O’Dell (not all that unusual) in game two came on the heels of a two-goal performance from Ben Chiarot in the earlier game that year.

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