Wolves hammered by Rangers to close out winless road trip

For most people Monday was a holiday, but the Sudbury Wolves enjoyed no Thanksgiving cheer.

The Wolves wrapped up a three game Western Conference road trip with an 8-2 loss in Kitchener.

Any progress made in the two earlier losses in London and Sarnia earlier in the weekend were quickly erased during the two plus hours on the ice at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

Head coach Dave Matsos says there were no positives to take from the game.

"We are struggling to score goals but there is no reason we can't prevent them" said Matsos.

"I don't think we were defensively committed today. When we have a situation like today we can't rely on the younger generation to carry us through it".

"I'm going to lean on the older guys to be more accountable".

"Our best players have not been our best players and that has to be addressed".

The hometown Rangers led 2-0 after the first period, 6-0 after the second and had a 7-0 lead before the Wolves were able to get one into the back of the net at the 11:21 mark of the third period.

The eternal optimist might say there were a couple of positives if you looked hard enough.

The power play finally converted going 1-4 after entering the game a woeful 3-33. The power-play goal was scored by Dmitry Sokolov, his second of the season.

The other bright spot was the first OHL goal from Ben Garagan. The North Bay native says he was thrilled, but disappointed it came in a loss.

"I was happy to score to give the guys a bit of a boost even though it came in a loss" said Garagan.

"It's great being one of the guys and playing in the O-H-L is an unreal feeling and being able to get some ice time is even better".

The loss was the Wolves fifth in a row and drops their season record to 1-6.

The Wolves are back on home ice on Friday, Oct. 16 against the North Bay Battalion. That is followed by road games next Saturday and Sunday in Niagara and Hamilton.