Sending a message

If the message that they were trying to send is they can be an offensive threat…the Barrie Colts were the recipient of a pretty strong message. The Sudbury Wolves ran over the Colts in an 8-2 victory last night. It was all lines firing last night as goals came from Sokolov (2), Murray (2) and Drake Pilon, Tabak, Lajeunesse, and Carson each lighting the lamp once. It was exactly the message they needed to send, with injuries plaguing the Sudbury Wolves, a big win heading into a Northern Rivalry weekend at home, should help carry some momentum into the weekend.

Tonight, puck drops at 7:05 pm, when the Soo Greyhounds are in town. The Soo Greyhounds are a team that are absolutely all in this year. When interviewing the players’ they have all said the same thing. This is their time. If I was to make a very bold prediction, I would say that the Greyhounds are likely a team to find themselves hoisting a Memorial Cup come May for the first time since 1993. They have all the parts, and with the caliber of core group of players on their team, this just may be their year. The last time they won, their head coach was on the ice, as a part of that winning team. I remember that time oh so well. We had season tickets to the Soo Greyhounds as at the time we were living in the Soo. My grandfather would take me to as many games as he could. There was something special about that team, and there is something special about the current Greyhounds team. According to Head Coach Drew Bannister, “Winning at any level is very difficult, at the end of the day you’re competing against every team in the CHL. The players are going to get you to where you want to go. In todays’ day and age so much is about the individual, so to commit to a team, is a very special thing. Being able to bring together as a team, 23-24 individuals, you know you’ve done your job. It is the kids that go out on the ice that do it. If you look back to the team in ’93, we probably weren’t the strongest team, but we learned how to win in every situation. It took us three tries to win, so from each try we learned from that situation. It is the experiences that our guys build off of. This group is at that point. We are seasoned, there have been ups and downs, but we are getting to have a real understanding of what it takes to win. We have the right building blocks. We are probably a team that will need to add to our core group, to do what we want to do. We have a lot of 16 year olds, but we still have a lot to build on. They are getting the ice time they need to develop, but most likely there will be some moves to get us where we want to be.”

Saturday the team takes a break, and Santa Claus rolls into town for the annual parade.

On Sunday, the North Bay Battalion make a trip to the Nickel City. The Battalion have struggled this season, finding themselves in last place in the Ontario Hockey League. Coach Stan Butler, is not typically a coach who finds himself in these kind of situations, but it has definitely been a rebuild over last season and coming into this season. I will be interviewing Brett Mackenzie, captain of the Battalion on Sunday, and look forward to the opportunity as we grew up down the street from one another in Vars, Ontario. One thing about Battalion vs Wolves games, is that these two teams, really don’t like each other. Here is to hoping that the Wolves can build off their offensive force last night in Barrie, and continue it into this weekend’s match ups. Check back Monday, when I recap the Wolves weekend.