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Home , Aaron Ekblad, Barrie Colts

18 Northern Life n Thursday, March 20, 2014

Playoff tickets! Keep checking NorthernLife. ca’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/northernlife.ca). We’re giving away tickets to the Wolves playoff home games March 25 and March 27.

Battle report — playoffs Playoff schedule

Game 1 No second chances here March 20 at , 7:30 p.m. Game 2 March 22 at Barrie, 7:30 p.m. Wolves says Game 3 it’s time for team to March 25 at Sudbury, 7 p.m. Game 4 rise to the occasion March 27 at Sudbury, 7 p.m.

SCOTT *Game 5 HADDOW March 28 at Barrie, 7:30 p.m. For northernlife.ca *Game 6 March 30 at Sudbury, 7 p.m. When cap- *Game 7 tain Kevin Raine looks around the April 1 at Barrie, 7:30 p.m. dressing room, he sees a group of young men ready to deliver on * If necessary potential. Raine sees a team pre- pared to make a run in the playoffs and serve notice to the league the Wolves are for real. “It is playoff time and we are playing for our lives, not the stand- ings,” Raine said. “It is all on the line. If we lose, the is done. We have to rise to the occasion. There is no second chance.” A little bit of

Time is now history The regular season matters not It is all on the line. If we once the post-season begins, lose, the season is done. We but here it is for reference have to rise to the occasion. regardless. The Wolves won There is no second chance. the regular season series five Wolves captain Kevin Raine games to three. Sudbury went 3-1 on home ice against the Colts, and 2-2 on the road. It Sudbury (fifth in Eastern Con- was a fairly even for the most ference with a 33-24-3-8 record) part as Sudbury scored 31 begins the playoffs by taking on goals and Barrie tallied 29. the (fourth in Eastern Nicholas Baptiste led the way Conference with a 37-28-1-2 record). against Barrie this season with The Wolves are expecting a six goals and 15 points in eight tough tilt against Barrie, having games. Mangiapane scored six lost four of five games at the end of goals and nine points against the regular season. The Wolves did Sudbury Wolves captain Kevin Raine said this week key to overcoming the Barrie Colts Sudbury. earn a victory in their last game of in the first round of the playoffs is shutting down the “big guns” Barrie has up front. the season, a 2-1 triumph over first- Playoff history place Oshawa, and the hope is the TERRY WILSON / OHL IMAGES This year marks the seventh good vibes will carry over. time the Wolves and Colts lock “Any series is going to be emo- Smith put his neck out on the line at Wolves were first in the Central expects five things out his team. horns in the playoffs. Each tional regardless of rivalry,” Raine the trade deadline in early January Division and second in the Eastern “Play hard. Play well. Play team has won three series, said. “If we don’t bounce back now, by giving up five second-round draft Conference coming out of December smart. Play disciplined. Play to dating back to the 1997-’98 we are in trouble.” picks and promising and in January. But the team strug- win,” he said. season. The playoff battles Sudbury manage- Stefan LeBlanc to acquire veterans gled and lost it’s grip on first place. The Wolves will be without for- ment is expecting and Trevor Carrick “When the team went on the win- ward Jacob Harris (day-to-day, upper have been intense. Their last nothing but a long from Kitchener and Mississauga, ning streak, it seemed things were body injury) and Conor Cummins post-season series in 2010 fea- run in the post- respectively. falling into place,” Smith said. “Noth- (indefinite, upper body surgery). tured a bench-clearing brawl season. President They were costly moves, ing is guaranteed in this league.” in Sudbury. and GM Blaine but made sense at the time. The Head coach Paul Fixter said he @northern_life

Enemy lines Corralling the formidable Barrie Colts SCOTT HADDOW Offence points in 68 games. Overall, Goaltending For northernlife.ca The Colts were one of the Colts had seven players hit The Colts sported a young the more potent teams in the at least 20 goals on the season. goalie tandem in 2013-14 with It doesn’t take a genius Eastern Conference with 266 rookie to figure out why the Barrie goals for, second overall. The Defence getting the lion’s share of the Colts finished fourth in the offence is led by forwards The Colts allowed 218 work. Blackwood went 23-15- Eastern Conference. Andres Athanasiou and Zach goals against, third best in the 1-1 with a 2.98 goals-against- The Colts are a balanced Hall. The pair combined for conference. The defence, and average and .902 save percent- team with quality offence led 165 points during the regular team for that matter, is lead by age. Backup goalie Daniel by some dangerous forwards season. Athanasiou racked captain Ekblad. The 6-foot-4 Gibl went 11-13-0-1, with a 2.96 and an effective D-corps led by up 49 goals and 95 points in defender piled up 23 goals and goals-against-average and .902 stud defender 66 games. Rookie forward 53 points in 58 games. The save percentage. Blackwood — the potential No. 1 overall finished Colts defence group is big, will be the starter. pick in the 2014 NHL draft. third in rookie scoring in mobile and experienced. EKBLAD Here is a look at the Colts. the OHL with 24 goals and 51 @northern_life TERRY WILSON / OHL IMAGES TERRY