Wolves wow fans against Kitchener

by Scott Haddow

I'm hard to impress. It's not often I am blown away by a regular sporting event, which makes me feel compelled to write something about it.

Go ahead and ask anyone who knows me. Nine times out of 10, I can usually find the bad and ugly side of something rather than the fleeting glimmer of something good. It takes skill people.

Well, last Friday night I was impressed with the Sudbury Wolves.

I've been covering the team for five seasons now, and there hasn't been too many times I walked away from a Wolves game shaking my head in profound disbelief.

Of course there were the many times last year during the Wolves run to the OHL finals, but that aside, it has been usually a no head-shaking experience for me.

The Wolves were down 5-1 to the Kitchener Rangers before the game was even half over. Since Sudbury was playing Saturday night, I thought I would go home early like many fans decided to do after the Rangers' fifth goal.

Then, something extraordinary happened. The Wolves battled all the way back to win the game. The icing on the cake was forward Patrik Lusnak scoring the winning goal with just one second left. For a team that had only three wins in the New Year prior to that victory, it was a reason to celebrate. And celebrate they did. The Wolves poured onto the ice and hopped onto one another in a big bundle of joy. It was a nice treat for the fans to witness as they stood on their tippy toes yelling encouragement to their local heroes.

Sudbury thumped the Memorial Cup host and the third ranked team in the country on home ice. It was a huge win for a young squad that features numerous 16 and 17 year old players as well as many first year players.

There's an exciting contest for Major Junior hockey fans which will land the winner a trip for two to the Memorial Cup in Kitchener in May. Go to www.mastercardmemorialcup.com/ticket_contest.php for all the rules and regulations.

Basically, the contest is for kids under the age of 19 and asks them to design a ticket that features a memorable moment from a past event and what the championship means to the contestant. Hurry up kids, as the contest ends Feb. 22. The Memorial Cup is, in my humble opinion, the hardest sports trophy to win and it's one of the best hockey tournaments anyone will ever witness, so don't miss out on any chance to go.