Wolves fade against Attack, settle for weekend split

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If battling through adversity makes you stronger, the Sudbury Wolves should be powered up for the fast-approaching OHL playoffs.

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Wolves fade against Attack, settle for weekend split Back to video

A team that not long ago seemed poised to win the Eastern Conference regular-season title is suddenly a long shot to win the Central Division and at risk of not securing home-ice advantage for Round 1 of the playoffs, after losing two of three games on the weekend.

Winnipeg Jets 2023 first-rounder Colby Barlow notched a hat trick to lead the Owen Sound Attack to a 6-4 victory over the visiting Wolves at Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre on Sunday afternoon. Sudbury battled back from a 3-1 deficit and led 4-3 going into the third period, but surrendered three unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes.

The Mississauga Steelheads won 7-2 in Brantford on Sunday and the North Bay Battalion earned a point thanks to a 4-3 overtime loss in Kingston, meaning the Wolves are three points behind the Steelheads and two back of the Battalion in the division. Sudbury and North Bay have three games remaining and Mississauga has two.

After losing 8-5 to Oshawa on home ice on Friday night, the Wolves pulled off a 6-1 victory in Barrie on Saturday, thanks to a 28-save performance from Nate Krawchuk, who stepped in after a long layoff and stood tall against the Colts. It was a different story on Sunday, though, as Krawchuk could block just 20 of 25 and got pulled after the Attack scored the eventual game-winner 4:09 into the third. Servac Petrovsky took a shot from a bad angle that squeezed between Krawchuk and the post to his right, ending his afternoon in favour of backup Jakub Vondras.

While still without suspended forwards Nathan Villeneuve and Evan Konyen, the Wolves were also missing forward Nick Yearwood and defenceman Matthew Mania on Sunday due to injuries and saw winger Chase Coughlan get tossed after being assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking to the head at the 15:37 mark of the first period.

Coach Ken MacKenzie admits it’s difficult to succeed with so many players missing, but still felt like this was one they let slip away.

“Not having all the bodies that you’d love to have here, especially when you’re playing three (games) in two and a half days and you get a kid ejected in the first period … we were short-staffed, there’s no question about that,” he said. “I still think, though, we put ourselves in a position going into the third period where you’re up by a goal, and you’ve got to find a way to win that hockey game.

“It’s tough, especially with points that we need as bad as we do right now. That’s a tough couple of points to give up.”

The Attack jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 16 seconds into the game when Barlow snuck in behind the Wolves defence and beat Krawchuk on a backhand for his first of three goals. Petrovsky’s first of two made it 2-0 on a slapshot from the top of the faceoff circle at the 15:24 mark and, just 13 seconds after, that Coughlan hit an unsuspecting Petrovsky near the benches. Coughlan was ejected from the game after fighting James Petrovski, who drew an instigator penalty on the play.

Quentin Musty scored 24 seconds into the ensuing four-on-four situation to make it 2-1, banging in his own rebound on a partial breakaway. But Barlow’s second goal came at 19:03 on a blast from the faceoff dot to Krawchuk’s left on the power play to make it 3-1.

Alex Pharand was awarded a penalty shot while short-handed just before time expired in the opening period. He went wide right, swung back into the middle of the ice and snapped home a bullet that beat Attack goalie Carter George at the 19:58 mark to cut the lead to 3-2.

Kocha Delic potted his 24th of the season on a rebound 2:09 into the second period to even the score at 3-3, and a beautiful three-way passing play gave the Wolves their only lead of the game at 10:37 when Goyette circled the net, found Dalibor Dvorsky in the slot and he dished again to Musty on the doorstep for a tap-in.

Musty finished with two goals, his 38th and 39th of the season, along with an assist. Goyette’s two assists have him tied with North Bay’s Anthony Romani in the OHL scoring race with 105 points each going into the final week of the season. Romani had a goal in the Battalion’s loss to the Frontenacs.

Sudbury’s 4-3 lead on the Attack evaporated quickly in the third period on Sunday. Barlow’s hat trick goal came on a long wrist shot 52 seconds into the final frame, Petrovsky’s bad angle goal happened a little more than three minutes after that, and Cedrick Guindon put the icing on the cake at 9:42 — the only goal scored on Vondras, who finished with seven saves on eight shots in relief.

If there’s any good news for the Wolves, it’s that Konyen will return from his six-game suspension on Friday night, when the Wolves host Barrie in their final regular-season game at Sudbury Community Arena. They head to Niagara on Saturday night and finish the season in Oshawa on Sunday. Villeneuve will miss those games, but return for game one of the playoffs.

The Wolves have only managed two wins in six games with that pair out of the lineup, underscoring their obvious importance to the team.

“We knew that from the get-go,” MacKenzie offered. “A guy like Villy, he’s your engine, he makes everything go. He’s the guy that’s hard to play against all the time. Konyen can play anywhere, in your top six, and he’s just another kid that’s hard to play against. He plays a lot of specialty teams for you.

“No question, those guys are missed.”

While some will see the recent slide as the sky falling in Wolves land, the coach is trying to remain calm and doesn’t believe for one second that the group has lost belief in itself.

“Not one bit, I’d say right now. These guys, there’s no quit in them, you saw it again today,” said MacKenzie, pointing to the fact that losing to the Attack wasn’t from a lack of effort among the players who were in the lineup. “We’re the same hockey team we’ve been all year, we’re a good hockey team and you know these guys will find a way to put it together.”

MacKenzie sees the experience of players like Donovan McCoy and Nick DeAngelis, acquired during the season, as highly significant to help the club battle through this adversity. McCoy’s Petes won the OHL championship, while DeAngelis’ Spitfires who were the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

“That’s how Peterborough was going into the playoffs last year, I think they were 4-6 going into the playoffs and they didn’t hit their stride yet, so that’s something we can reflect on. We brought in DeAngelis, who played on the top team (in the West) all year. They had no adversity all year long and they were out four straight in the playoffs.

“They’re going to be fine; these guys will be fine. These guys, they’re frustrated, but they’re not down, I can tell you that.”

Wolves 6, Colts 1

At the Sadlon Arena in Barrie on Saturday night, the Wolves bounced back from Friday’s disappointing 8-5 loss at home to Oshawa with a win over the Colts in their barn.

Krawchuk was a difference-maker in that game, stopping 28 of 29 in his first game for the Wolves in more than two months. Dalibor Dvorsky paced the attack with his team-leading 40th goal of the season, along with four assists, while Musty had two goals and one assist and Goyette had a goal and an assist. Andre Anania scored Sudbury’s other goal, while Carter Lowe was the only Colt to find the back of the net.