Facing the playoff-ready Oshawa Generals for the first of three times in the next three weeks, the Wolves also fully understood that Saturday night’s game was not, in fact, a playoff game.
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Locked in a tight 2-2 draw after 40 minutes of play in a game that featured just 30 combined shots until the final period, the home team saw the roles reversed from the night before.
While a Quentin Musty penalty started a three-goal run in 48 seconds against Sting, an undisputed third-period free-kick from Beckett Sennecke marked the first of four unanswered goals for the third-period Nickel City exiters. with a 6-2 victory.
Following Oshawa’s 6-4 overtime wins over the London Knights last Wednesday and the 4-3 overtime win over the Greyhounds on Friday, it’s fair to say that the team that is one point behind Wolves in the league standings is a more than vital check for a Sudbury side that has had to shift gears virtually overnight.
“You go from a 10-3 win to betting on a team that could very well play in the playoffs; you’ve got to change your mindset pretty quickly,” said Wolves captain David Goyette, who raised his overall season to 98 problems with a pair of assists on the night.
“I think we did a smart job with that. It was tied after two stints and in the end we took our foot off the fuel. Luckily for us, it wasn’t a playoff game, so we’ll be informed from and be in a position to qualify for the playoffs. “
Everyone involved in the team agrees that the Wolves spent little, if any, time resting on their laurels after a simple win over Sarnia, knowing full well that the Generals are coming in strong.
“We talked about it; We’re ready for this game; we knew it would be a playoff-like atmosphere,” Sudbury head coach Ken MacKenzie said.
And while goals from Dalibor Dvorsky and Andre Anania gave the Pack a 2-1 lead after one game (Connor Lockhart blocked for Oshawa), the home side may have given themselves more breathing room when the Gennies fought back.
“Our execution wasn’t very good,” MacKenzie said. We missed a lot of smart opportunities early on. They concede the fewest goals in the league, so when you have those chances, you have to bury them.
Calum Ritchie tied the game for the Generals, scoring the only goal of Season 2, the 23rd of the season and the first of two of the game, setting the bar for a long-awaited endgame generation.
Sennecke forced a turnover on Oshawa’s blue line to win his penalty less than two minutes later, and Ritchie finished off a great pass from Dylan Roobroeck and Sennecke to give his team a little more breathing room. Tyler Graham extended the lead to 3 and Roobroeck closed out the game, finding the void late.
Some nights, MacKenzie may simply find fault with costly defensive mistakes. In this game, however, it’s more about Wolves not doing enough to create offensive opportunities.
“Last night they were a very young team, a very green team and they will concede chances to score,” he said. “We knew that going into this game, we had to work hard to get our chances. It’s about doing the little things, which will get you to win hockey games.
With two more matchups remaining between those teams, it will be appealing to keep an eye out for contrasting styles, as the Generals prefer a sometimes larger set of forwards focused on a forged two-way game, compared to the Wolves’ high-octane offense.
“We can’t let them stop us,” MacKenzie said. It’s a bigger team that will try to slow you down. We’re a fast hockey team and when we go from north to south, we’re a tough team to beat. “Beat. We turned down a lot of first-class opportunities tonight, look at the start it’s too fancy and doesn’t shoot the puck.
While Goyette understands that he and teammates Quentin Musty and Dalibor Dvorsky will likely have to deal with less and less time and space as the normal season comes to an end, the Hawkesbury, Ont. , native also believes they have the ability to fight back. .
“We’re professional enough to create space for others,” Goyette said. “(Dvorsky and Musty) are obviously two very talented players. “
Players who hope to be in a position to qualify for the playoffs until the end of the month.
“It’s going to be smart for us to play the groups that we might see in the playoffs, to get a feel for them,” he said. “Then we just tweak a few pieces of our system, make some changes, and then we’ll be able to continue for a long time. “
Sudbury 10, Sarnia 3
Musty’s penalty only stopped a surge from Sarnia Sting mid-game, but it sparked an offensive explosion that included his second hat-trick of the season and ended in a 10-3 win for Wolves on Friday night.
Musty also added two assists to finish with five points, while Kocha Delic, with two goals and an assist, and Nathan Villeneuve, with a goal and three assists, helped boost Sudbury’s offense.
Anania, Dvorsky, Landon McCallum and Matthew Mania also scored for Sarnia, while Marcus Vandenberg made 24 saves.
“You score 10 goals, it’s a pretty smart rebounding game,” Musty said in a postgame press conference. “All the lines were offensive tonight, but the most important thing is our zone D. We tried to erase that and I think we did a smart job tonight. We’ve had little things that have led us to goals and the consequences are still a factor for us, but I think it was a smart step forward for us.
“We haven’t lost consecutively in a long time, so it’s a smart bounce-back game to end that little streak. “
— with Ben Leeson/The Sudbury Star
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