Sudbury Wolves defenceman and assistant captain Jeff Corbett and his teammates are still carrying the embarrassment.
The Wolves get back to playing home games this weekend as they host Peterborough on Friday and Erie on Saturday. The last home game the Wolves played was a humiliating 8-2 loss at the hands of the Owen Sound Attack two weeks ago.
It left the players and coaches — and fans — with a bad taste. The only way to wash it out is with a victory.
“Our next home game is going to be different,” Corbett said. “We all are upset with our home games, and actually, all of our games. We can’t embarrass ourselves anymore.
“(But) I believe we have turned a page and we will start getting wins.”
It has been tough for Sudbury in the first 10 games. The Wolves managed to win their first game of the 2014-15 regular season, but since then have piled up nine straight losses.
The Pack is coming off two road losses from last weekend, but despite the end results, the players are feeling better about themselves. In one of those games last week, the Wolves lost 3-2 to the Erie Otters, one of the top-ranked teams in the country.
Sudbury matched Erie move for move and could have easily won the game if a bounce or two went their way. Despite the loss, the game is now a benchmark for the Wolves. They proved they have the level of play and desire to be competitive against anyone.
“We showed who we can really be against Erie,” Corbett said. “When we work hard and play the full game, it is evident we can compete with any team. We have the systems and we have to execute them.
“It’s on us as players to do this every game. We bring that each game and we will start getting more wins than losses.”
The Wolves will get a boost with the return of forward Nick Baptiste for Friday’s game. Baptiste, the team’s leading scorer from last season, missed the first 10 games with an upper body injury. He was cleared by doctors earlier this week to resume play.
Baptiste had 45 goals and 89 points last season. He stands to make an impact on a team desperately needing one.
“He will add an offensive spark,” Sudbury GM Blaine Smith said. “Most importantly, I think he will raise the confidence level of our team. He can contribute in so many ways.”
It doesn’t take a member of Mensa to point out when a team has a 1-9 record, like the Wolves own right now, there are no shortage of problem areas.
After last weekend’s action, the Wolves had allowed the most goals against (42) in the Eastern Conference. The Wolves also scored the fewest number of goals for in the entire league, with just 17 in 10 games. The power play is ranked 18 out of 20 teams.
It’s not difficult to figure out — the Wolves need to score more goals and cut down on goals against. Being in the Top 3 for penalties isn’t helping either, so discipline continues to be an issue. Even with the penalties, the Wolves penalty kill units have been solid and rank eighth overall in the OHL.
“I’m getting tired of losing and it’s not a lot of fun,” head coach Paul Fixter said. “We played better against Erie and Niagara last weekend, but we are judged on our results and our results have not been good enough. Our margin of error is small. When we are off, we are not a good team … (but) the Erie game showed what we are capable of if we work hard on a regular basis.”
Enemy lines
The Wolves roll out the welcome mat for the Peterborough Petes and Erie Otters this weekend. The Petes come into town Friday night for a 7:30 p.m. game, while Erie enters Saturday for a 7 p.m. game. One team (Erie) is hot and quickly establishing itself as one of the premier squads in the country and league while the other (Peterborough) has struggled to get a foothold in the season. Here’s a quick look at both teams. (Stats are as of Tuesday noon press deadline.)
Peterborough
The Petes went 1-4-1-2 in their first eight games and was sitting last in the East Division. Goals against have been a key concern for the Petes as they allowed 39 goals in the eight games, making them one of the worst defensive teams in the Eastern Conference. Big, bruising forward Nick Ritchie leads the way, and had four goals and nine points in eight games. The team is waiting for forward Hunter Garlent to explode. The 19-year-old was a big piece in a trade with Guelph last season, and Garlent had 30 points in 25 games after coming over. Garlent has seven points in seven games and just one goal. The Petes feature Falconbridge boy Cameron Lizotte on defence. The 17-year-old played 33 games last year as a rookie.
Erie
The Otters were the last team in the OHL to suffer a regulation loss, going 8-0-0-1 in their first nine games and being nationally ranked in the CHL Top 10. Their offensive muscles are large and in charge, scoring 49 goals in nine games and averaging a league-best 5.4 goals-per-game. Simply put, the Otters are the biggest, baddest monster stomping around the OHL right now. Future NHL star and forward Connor McDavid is doing everything to justify the hype surrounding him with eight goals and 25 points in nine games. Forward Dylan Strome is leaping up the NHL draft rankings by decimating the league with his skill as he had seven goals and 23 points in nine games.
