Wolves collapse in Mississauga

One of the big problems that’s plagued the Sudbury Wolves this season reared its ugly head again Sunday afternoon in Mississauga.

The Wolves built up a 3-0 second-period lead, and led 3-1 going into the third, but couldn’t hold on, losing 4-3 to the Steelheads.

It was another example of the Wolves' inability to play a full 60-minute game.

Wolves interim head coach Dave Matsos said his team deserved a better fate.

“It wasn’t a case of us playing for only two periods” said Matsos.

“We had pockets in the third period. We had them hemmed in for quite a while, but we didn’t capitalize on the chances we had in the third.

“The most frustrating thing for me is the attention to detail in our own end has gotten so much better, but in the end that’s what cost us today.

“We were puck chasing instead of sticking to our system, and it goes to show why it’s so important we stay within the system because they’re put in place for a reason.”

The Wolves got off to a good start when Pavel Jenys scored his 12th goal of the season just 1:50 into the first period. Matt Schmalz added his team-leading 24th as the Wolves led 2-0 after the opening 20 minutes.

The Wolves went up 3-0 at 13:36 of the second period when Jenys scored his second of the game, but Mississauga took over after that.

The home team cut the lead to 3-1 after two periods and then went on to score three more in the third including the game winner at 15:15 mark.

Wolves defenceman Kyle Capobianco said it was a disappointing loss as they got off their game plan in the third period.

“We got away from doing the little things right, chipping pucks deep and we got away from our d-zone structure,” said Capobianco.

“The last few games we have seen a lot more positive things happening and hopefully they’ll lead to some better results.”

The Wolves outshot the Steelheads 42-35.

Goalie Sam Tanguay got his fifth straight start as Troy Timpano remained out of the lineup with an upper body injury.

Forward Jacob Harris was scratched again with an upper body injury while defenceman Cole Mayo served the second game of his two-game suspension for a slew-foot penalty assessed Thursday night in Peterborough.

The loss dropped the Wolves' season record to 10-48-1-1 while their road record drops to 3-25-1-1.

The Wolves return home top open a four-game home stand starting Tuesday night against the Niagara Ice Dogs. Game time at the Sudbury Community Arena is 7 p.m.