Wolves, Generals from A-Z
We know how the story starts. Sudbury Wolves move into sixth place with a win over Mississauga Steelheads and will face the third-place Oshawa Generals.
What’s left to write of the story is everything that happens between now and when the final buzzer sounds to see which one of the two Eastern Conference teams move on to the second round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.
From a week ago, where the Wolves were in jeopardy of not making the playoffs, to having gone on a three-game win streak to catapult them into the sixth spot in the Eastern block, it’s been a roller-coaster.
It seems like the Wolves went into Tuesday night’s game, with one goal in mind — beat Mississauga and go after Oshawa.
The Wolves split the regular-season series with the Generals 2-2. They were outscored only by a goal, 13-12 over those four games. So, on paper Sudbury matches up well against Oshawa.
If you look back to the trade deadline, the Wolves brought in overage defender Patrick Sanvido, a piece they believed they were missing on the back end.
The Generals for their part, traded away key players, so they could at least got a return on the likes of forward Anthony Cirelli and defenseman Mitch Vande Sompel to build for the future.
The Generals were sellers at the deadline but were still able to go 17-11-1 following the January 10 trade deadline. Of the losses, only four of them came against teams that finished with more points — the remaining eight were handed to them by teams lower in the standings.
This makes it especially interesting for the Wolves, who have not faced the new-look Generals.
The last time the two teams played each other was November 13, in Oshawa, a 4-2 loss for the Wolves. They’ve had a lot of time in between to think about things. Both Cirelli and Vande Sompel were difference-makers in that game.
So, the plot thickens — how will the Wolves react to a team who lost their star power at the deadline? Will they be able to capitalize on a team that suffered more losses to teams under them in the standings?
The David Matsos-coached Wolves finished the 2016-2017 regular season as the most-penalized team in the OHL with 982 penalty minutes.
For their part, the Generals weren’t too far behind. With head coach Bobby Jones at the helm, the Generals amassed 885 penalty minutes, fourth most in the league.
Both of their penalty-killing teams are good, because they have to be. Wolves are killing penalties at 81.7 per cent compared to the Generals at 83.7 per cent.
Neither of the power plays are exceptionally great, finishing in the bottom half of the league.
The Generals still have a fresh memory of winning the Memorial Cup in 2015. As the oldest franchise in the OHL and one of the most decorated, with five Memorial Cups, the Generals are seemingly always in it. This season is no different.
I have the expectation that this series will be an all-out battle to the end. Expect missing teeth, bodies banged up and some pretty sweet dangles along the way. Nothing says a good playoff series like a toothless grin at the end.
Up front the Generals are sparked by their leading scorer, forward Domenic Commisso, who finished the regular season with 63 points, good for 35th in the OHL.
The Wolves are led by high-flying Russian forward, Dmitri Sokolov, who finished 21st overall in league scoring with 72 points. Sokolov finished second only behind Erie Otters star Alex DeBrincat in goals with 48.
Between the pipes, the Generals have faced both Zach Bowman and Jake McGrath and each had a win and a loss but they have never faced Mackenzie Savard.
The Wolves for their part have faced both Kyle Keyser and Jeremy Brodeur, who also have each had a win and a loss.
Bowman is still very much injured for the Wolves, with McGrath taking over the starter position. Last night’s game in Mississauga was just another display of the McGrath skill level as he faced 42 shots and earned himself first star.
Going into playoffs riding the back of your rookie goaltender is never an easy position to be in but the Wolves are confident in McGrath and it shows.
This series will open up on Friday in Oshawa at the Tribute Communities Centre before a packed house. Oshawa fans are loud, proud and have an opinion about everything.
The exact same can be said about Wolves fans. It would be great to see the Elgin St. barn packed like in the playoffs of the past. This team has something to prove and in front of packed arena, what better way to send a message.
No matter what, the Wolves who have not been in the playoffs since the 2013-2014 season and are facing an uphill battle — but that’s one thing about thing about this team, they never back down from a fight.
Meanwhile, Wolves second-year forward David Levin, who is a man of few words, may have summed up it best for playoff-starved Sudbury.
“I am really excited. Not everyone is getting a chance to play in the playoffs. Looking forward to it,” he told me.
SCHEDULE
Friday March 24th 7:35 p.m. in Oshawa
Sunday March 26th 6:05 p.m. in Oshawa
Tuesday March 28th 7:00 p.m. in Sudbury
Thursday March 30th 7:00 p.m. in Sudbury
Friday March 31st 7:35 p.m. in Oshawa *if necessary
Sunday April 2nd 7:00 p.m. in Sudbury *if necessary
Tuesday April 4th 7:05 p.m. in Oshawa *if necessary.
I do recall the Sudbury Wolves sweeping the heavily-favoured Ottawa 67’s in the 2011 Eastern Conference quarter-finals.