GAME DAY PREVIEW: Sudbury Wolves (7) @ Ottawa 67’s (2) – Game 4

BY: Kathryn Jean


Radio: 580 CFRA (Ottawa), 95.5 KFM (Sudbury).
TV: Rogers 22 (Ottawa), EastLinkTV (Sudbury)
Sudbury leads series 3-0
An unlikely hero, Josh McFadden scored three times including the game tying goal with 16.6 seconds left in the extra frame to lead the Sudbury Wolves to a 5-4 defeat of the favoured Ottawa 67’s.  It was easily the 67’s best game of the series, but the Wolves were able to capitalize on their chances as the 67’s ran into some penalty trouble in the final period.
The Ottawa 67’s return home for their first actual home game at the RONA Centre in this series.  Game 1 was played at a neutral Scotiabank Place site in Kanata, Ontario due to a scheduling conflict at the RONA Centre.  The 67’s may be down 3-0 in the opening round vs the Sudbury Wolves, but they can look to their regular season home record for some hope.  The 67’s were unstoppable at home posting a 25-5-4, good for third best in the league.
It might not look good right now for the 67’s, but they have some stats on their side.  The 67’s longest losing streak of the season was only 4 games and happened once when Ottawa was in the middle of a 6-game road swing back in the end of February.  They went on to win 5 straight games and 9 games undefeated in regulation.  Meanwhile, the Wolves have only been able to string together a 4 game winning streak once this season which happened back at the beginning of February.
While it’s not common for teams to comeback from being down 3-0, it is not impossible.  Just last season the Windsor Spitfires rallied from a 3-0 deficit to the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL Western final. The Spitfires went on win the J Ross Robertson Cup (OHL title) and Memorial Cup.
Keys to the game for both teams would be to come out of the gate early.  The Wolves will look to silence a boisterous Ottawa crowd while the 67’s will look to get an early lead to build off momentum.  The Wolves will need to continue to capitalize on their chances, while the 67’s need to stay out of the box.  While the Wolves PP has not been as good in the playoffs, they were still ranked #1 in the league during the regular season and have managed to capitalize on them in clutch moments in the game.
Though 6 points in 3 games is nothing to scoff at, Tyler Toffoli and the 67’s big guns need to step up.  The top line has only managed to combine for a total of 10 points and Shane Prince has yet to record a point in his two games so far.
They may be down, but they are not out.  As Dalton Smith tweeted, “In shock. But still believing. Its a huge hill to climb. Let's take it one step at a time.”  And that’s what the 67’s will have to do – take it one game at a time.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Ottawa 4 @ Sudbury 5 (Mar 29 2011) Final OT
Ottawa 3 @ Sudbury 5 (Mar 28 2011) Final
Sudbury 8 @ Ottawa 7 (Mar 26 2011) Final OT
LINEUP CHANGES
Ottawa 67’s
Nicholas Foglia, flu, day-to-day **expected to return for game 4
Tyler Graovac, fractured arm, indefinite
Travis Gibbons, lower body, indefinite
Jon Carnevale, concussion, IR
Cosimo Fontana, concussion, IR
Sudbury Wolves
Cody Mintz (scratch in games 1-3)
Jeff Corbett (scratch in games 1-3)
Alex Racino (scratch in games 1-3)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ottawa 67’s
Tyler Toffoli – 3 goals, 6 points in 3 games
Thomas Nesbitt – 2 goals, 5 points in 3 games
Ryan Martindale – 3 goals, 4 points in 3 games
Sean Monahan – 2 goals, 4 points in 3 games
Sudbury Wolves
Michael Sgarbossa – 2 goals, 10 points in 3 games
Andrey Kuchin – 5 goals, 8 points in 3 games
Joshua Leivo – 3 goals, 8 points in 3 games
NHL DRAFT PICKS
Ottawa 67’s
Tyler Toffoli (Los Angeles Kings round 2, #47 overall, 2010 NHL Entry Draft)
Ryan Martindale (Edmonton Oilers round 3, #61 overall, 2010 NHL Entry Draft)
Dalton Smith (Columbus Blue Jackets round 2, #34 overall, 2010 NHL Entry Draft)
Petr Mrazek (Detroit Red Wings round 5, #141 overall, 2010 NHL Entry Draft)
Eligible 2011: Shane Prince (35th in CS’ North American Skaters midterm ranking)
Sudbury Wolves
Marcus Foligno (Buffalo Sabres round 4, #104 overall, 2009 NHL Entry Draft)
Eric O’Dell (Anaheim Ducks round 2, #39 overall, 2008 NHL Entry Draft)
SCHEDULE

Game 5: Sat., April 2 at Ottawa 2:00 *if necessary
Game 6: Mon., April 4 at Sudbury 7:30 *if necessary
Game 7: Tues., April 5 at Ottawa 7:00 *if necessary