Hello playoffs! Wolves are in
The two-year drought is officially over. Yes folks, the Sudbury Wolves are headed back to the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.
It’s no surprise that on a night that was critical, it would be high-scoring forward Dmitri Sokolov who would step up in a huge way.
He has led the Wolves in points throughout the season and on Friday night, he notched goals no. 45, 46 and 47. Go big or go home, as they say.
It was definitely a sight to be seen, when Sokolov completed the hat trick — it was after all St. Patrick’s Day and there were no shortage of leprechaun hats tossed on the ice to salute a player who has given the Wolves faithful the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Playoff hockey.
Yes, the Wolves are playoff bound. Say it again, because it sounds so good. The Wolves are playoff bound.
Captain of the Wolves and National Hockey League prospect of the Arizona Coyotes prospect, fourth-year defenseman Kyle Capobianco was all smiles after the playoff-clincher, a 5-2 home-ice decision over the North Bay Battalion before more than 4,000 fans.
When asked what it meant to be heading to the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season, where he only saw five games, Capobianco said: “It’s awesome. I think it means a lot for our whole group. The overagers have one last shot at it and the young guys get the experience.”
North Bay opened the scoring last night and quickly silenced the Sudbury faithful but less than a minute later Sokolov had his first of the night.
Late in the second, Daniil Vertiy pulled the Battalion ahead but again the Wolves responded just under a minute and a half later when Sokolov scored his second of the night.
It was in the opening twenty seconds of the third period when Wolves overage defender Patrick Sanvido put one past Battalion goalie Julian Sime that one had a sense that this game was going to open up. Something changed with that goal.
The Battalion, to its credit, didn’t give up, even in the dying seconds, when it was down by three after Wolves forward Ryan Valentini added the insurance goal and Sokolov hit the open net to complete the hat trick.
Speaking with Wolves forward David Levin following the game about the play of his team, he noted: “It was a great game. Everyone did their best. Our older guys are proven and they stepped up.”
Meanwhile, Sime was absolutely outstanding in the Battalion net. He faced 41 shots, many of which required him to make highlight-reel saves. Like Wolves goalie Jake McGrath the night before in North Bay, Sime kept his team in this one and gave it a fighting chance.
At the other end of the ice, McGrath turned aside 27 of 29 shots. McGrath himself was spectacular but Sime deserves some spotlight. For anyone who says he is not a bona-fide OHL caliber goalie, he silenced them.
The Battalion still isn’t out of the playoffs. There is still a fighting chance for North Bay.
But the Niagara IceDogs would need to lose their final two games of the regular season with the Battalion winning their final game at home against the Kingston Frontenancs on Sunday to force a tie-breaker for the eighth-and-final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Wolves currently sit seventh but could potentially finish as high as sixth or as low as eighth.
No matter where they end up, they know they are going into the playoffs as underdogs. That works just fine for them.
“I think we have played well against any team near the top and I think that’s when our game is at our best when we are playing the best teams and I think that in the playoffs it’s anyone’s game. We are looking forward to it,” Capobianco shared following the big win.
For the young players, who will get to experience their first taste of playoff hockey, Levin added: “It means a lot. I was ready for this all my life. Now I get the chance to play with great teammates, I’m excited for next week.”
Playoff hockey is back in Sudbury.
After two years of going home early, the Wolves have a ticket to the dance.
Finally!
AaaWwwHhhOooooo
Hello playoffs, Wolves are in,
Just by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins.