Wolves face hi-test Hamilton
Surging Sudbury Wolves will put their 4-2-1 record on the line tonight when they play host to the high-scoring Hamilton Bulldogs.
Both teams missed the Ontario Hockey League playoffs in 2015-2016 but are among the Eastern Conference leaders in 2016-2017.
As Sudbury is 4-2-1, Hamilton has a 5-1-0 mark — and has scored a whopping 41 goals in 6 games.
In fact, Hamilton has 5 players who have scored 5 goals or more so far this season — Matt Luff, MacKenzie Entwistle, Niki Petti, Michael Cramarossa and Matthew Strome.
While Hamilton has tallied 41 times in 6 outings, Sudbury has managed 22 goals in its 7 games.
But second-year Wolves general manager Barclay Branch has shown his scouting and trading prowess by putting together a balanced, deep roster for veteran Sudbury head coach David Matsos to work with.
Matsos acknowledged the job that Branch has done.
“Every night, we are sitting out good hockey players who are worthy of being in the lineup,” Matsos told Postmedia. “That is the position Barclay has put us in and it is a good position, something I haven’t seen in a while.
“It’s not easy to tell these guys they aren’t playing,” Matsos continued, “but at the same time it’s a position that shows this team is on the rise.”
Overage forward C.J. Yakimowicz, recently acquired from the London Knights, leads the Wolves in scoring with 1 goal, 7 assists, 8 points in 6 games. Yakimowicz has played in 3 of those games for Sudbury and while he has yet to score a goal for the Wolves, has 5 assists.
Meanwhile, rookie forward Darian Pilon, a Sault Ste. Marie native, is fourth on the Wolves in scoring with 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points. His twin-brother forward Drake Pilon has 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points.
PHOTO: Sudbury Wolves rookie forward Darian Pilon.