A five-goal outburst in the opening 10 minutes of the second period provided all the cushion the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves needed. The local AAA midgets moved a step closer to clinching first place, blasting the North Bay Trappers 8-1 Wednesday evening at Countryside Arena.
The Wolves looked like they might have a fight on their hands in the early going as the contest remained scoreless until late in the opening frame. But goals by Charlie Venedam and Brandon Jones just 12 seconds apart appeared to burst the North Bay bubble, setting the tone for a second-period scoring parade.
August Jarecki kicked things off in the second, netting a short-handed marker just 12 seconds in, followed in quick succession by goals from Josh Moore, Michael Laidley, with two, and Jones with his second as Sudbury opened up a 7-0 lead.
The Trappers broke the shutout bid of Wolves' netminder Andrew Lefebvre with a power play goal from rookie defenseman Jackson Newman. Sudbury closed the book offensively for this encounter, scoring the only goal of period number three as Jarecki registered his 12th goal of the season and second of the game.
The victory leaves the Nickel Capital Wolves sitting four points ahead of the Soo North Stars and needing a split in their two-game regular season closing homestand this weekend to clinch the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs.
"This year, with four very good teams, all of whom could have finished first, it's a real test to what the guys have gone through, it was one of our goals," coach Peter Michelutti Jr. said after the game. "That first weekend with home ice advantage and not having to travel is big."
It's been an interesting few weeks for the Wolves, who appeared to have squandered a chance at first place, playing poorly in an 8-2 loss to the Kapuskasing Flyers on the road a couple of weeks back.
But the team answered with a true show of character, sweeping the mighty North Stars in a pair of games in Sault Ste. Marie, something players and coaches alike were pleased to see.
"(In Kap), we weren't moving the puck, we didn't have any intensity, didn't play like a team," forward Brandon Langella said. "If we're ready for games, get the puck deep and stay out of the penalty box, we're fine."
"The week between the Kap and the Soo, we put a lot of pressure on the kids to respond," Michelutti added. "We had a couple of very hard practices, a lot of hard skates. We tried to let them know that we can't just turn the switch on come playoff time."
Blessed with a balanced roster, but without a pure "go to" sniper, Sudbury is looking to utilize their overall team quickness to create havoc all over the ice.
"We were moving our feet and our speed was a really big factor, especially through the neutral zone," Michelutti said, addressing the keys to his team's recent success. "The boys are starting to buy into what we've been preaching. Getting pucks deep, limiting our turnovers. When you pressure opposing teams, especially with our speed, you cause a lot of turnovers and we really have created a lot of offense that way.”
Sudbury will look to clinch first place at home Saturday evening, welcoming Kapuskasing to town for a 7:20 p.m. puck drop, before hosting the Kirkland Lake Legion 87's in the final game of the regular season on Sunday.
The Nickel City Sons are awaiting the post-season, having secured fourth place with a record of 22-10-0-2 and will open their playoff defense of the league crown against the New Liskeard Cubs.
Posted by Laurel Myers
