Jet-lagged Wolves come up short

LINZ, Austria- The Thunder Bay Timberwolves arrived in Linz, Austria this morning at about six in the morning after leaving Quebec City on Tuesday night.
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For the players that were unable to sleep on the long flight over the Atlantic, they were only able to get about five hours in Linz before a mandatory skate at 1 pm. Followed by a team meeting.
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Also arriving in Austria was the newly signed, Eric Lindros. Lindros arrived about an hour after his teammates and said he didn't sleep at all on his flight over.
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"I got about an hour after arriving over here. But I was way too pumped to finally get back on the ice," said Lindros.
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Lindros was able to get into the lineup for tonights game against the Black Wings. But only after the team was able to find a seemstress to letter Lindros' brand new road blue Timberwolves sweater. Lindros will be wearing the number nine instead of his usual eighty-eight. Timberwolf players can only wear numbers between one and thirty-five.
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All this and there was still a game to be played. Thunder Bay came out hitting right off the faceoff. But Linz's focus was obviously more with scoring goals, and scoring early. At 8:23 into the first period, the Wings were already up 2-0. Scott Thornton took a bad roughing penalty and Linz took advantage. Scoring their third goal of the period two seconds after Thornton took a seat.
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Joe Pavelski (pictured) scored for Thunder Bay with the man-advantage less than fifteen minutes into the game. That would ultimately be the final goal for either team in this game. Linz won 3-1.
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Thunder Bay put twenty six shots on Ed Belfour in the last two periods. But "The Eagle" stopped everyone of them. Ten of those shots came off the stick of rookie, Bill Thomas. His second game with double digit shots since joining the Timberwolves.
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"We had our chances. But just couldn't get anything past Belfour," said Wolves assistant coach, Mike Ramsey. "I'm proud of the effort. Hopefully we can take this back over with us."
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The injury bug hit the Timberwolves for the third time in as many games. This time to their best defenseman in Keith Ballard. He suffered what trainers will only say is a "lower body injury". Ballard is expected to miss a week.
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Patrick Thoresen is expected to be in the lineup on Friday against Niagara Falls. Thoresen has been out since last weekends game against Karlstad with an undisclosed injury.
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Zack Stortini is officially out for the rest of the season. Stortini and the Wolves learned this afternoon that Zack had indeed torn his ACL against the Remparts. He will not travel with the team on road games, but will be cheering on his mates from the press box at CN Gardens.

Lindros signed, on flight to Austria

QUEBEC CITY, QC, Canada- The Thunder Bay Timberwolves played a solid team game on Tuesday night. But once again came up short and lose by three to the Quebec Remparts in a five-to-two final.

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"I was pleased with the effort. But obviously not the outcome," said Wolves head coach, Craig Hartsburg. "Only one line showed on the scoresheet. That's got to change if we ever want to be successful. I think everyone else was thinking about the flight across the pond."

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Following tonight's contest in Quebec, the Timberwolves were on a plane an hour later. Bound for Austria for tomorrow night's game against the Linz Black Wings.

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"It's tough to not get that day off for travel on such long trips," said goaltender, Antero Niittymaki. Nitty is not expected to play in Austria.

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Also not expected to play against the Black Wings is gritty forward, Zack Stortini. Stortini went down awkwardly into the boards while trying to make a hit. It appears he may have blown out his knee. If that is indeed the case, Stortini's season is likely over. He flew back to Thunder Bay for further evaluations.

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Obviously not expecting Stortini's return anytime soon, the Timberwolves took no chances and signed veteren centre/winger, Eric Lindros (pictured) to a pro-rated one year, $450,000 contract. Lindros happened to be in the Quebec City area with his girlfriend (a Quebec native) when he learned that Thunder Bay was interested. "I gave them a verbal commitment over the phone, and will sign the papers when we meet in Austria," said Lindros while awaiting his flight to Linz. "It actually worked out pretty good. I had all my equipment in the trunk of my Corolla. I do just have the clothes on my back, but we're only over there for a day. I think I can find some nice threads somewhere in Austria."

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The Timberwolves and Lindros should arrive in Linz early Wednesday morning. There is a scheduled light afternoon skate. Followed by team meeting, then the players will have a few hours to themselves before the game. After that it's right back on a plane destined for Canada, and Friday's game in Niagara Falls against the Thunder.

Viking Quest

GOTEBORG, Sweden- The Timberwolves left Thunder Bay for Karlstad, Sweden on Thursday morning for Friday nights bout against the Killers.

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The trip started on a cramped charter flight on Bearskin Airlines from Thunder Bay International to Toronto. From there the Wolves had an hour layover, then it was onto a more comfortable, but long flight on Air Canada to London, England. Then a hop over the North Sea to Goteborg, Sweden.

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The hockey club will spend the night in Goteborg, then travel by bus north to Karlstad. They will have a walk through, and then a light practice to get their skates back under them.

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As a bonus for the long trip over the Atlantic, the Timberwolves will have three days off before their next game on Tuesday in Quebec. The players will have all of Saturday to do what they want in Stockholm. Andreas Karlsson, Loui Eriksson and Alexander Edler should be able to act as reliable tour guides of the city.

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The players will fly back to Canada on Sunday morning. But Timberwolves general manager and some scouts will remain in Sweden until Wednesday to personally evaluate three of their own prospects playing in the Swedish Elite League. Then also take a look at some of the 2008 Draft eligiable players.

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The three Timberwolves prospects playing in Sweden are Jonas Ahnelov (pictured) who is a defenseman for Frolunda, right winger Johan Ryno from Djurgarden and centreman Alexander Sundstrom from Brynas.

No luck, no goal for Wolves

THUNDER BAY, ON, Canada- There are two things that drives the Timberwolve's GM nuts more than anything in a hockey team. Getting shutout and completely dominated. Both happened on Tuesday night against the Havana Moon in a 6-0 game.

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"Tonight washes away anything good we've done in the last few games," said Timberwolves general manager, Blake Wendt. "This was just a lazy, bad contest for us. The fans that continue to fill this barn every night deserve to see a better effort from our side. They didn't get their monies worth tonight. That's for sure!"

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Tuesday nights game began with a somber tribute to a young hockey player that never got to live up to his full potential. The Timberwolves, Moon and 19,434 fans in the Canadian National Gardens observed a moment of silence in rememberance of the OHL's Windsor Spitfires captain, Mickey Renaud. Renaud collapsed at his home in Tecumseh, Ontario on Monday and was transported to Windsor Regional Hospital with no vital signs. Resuscitation attempts failed and he was pronounced dead around noon. Mickey Renaud was only 19.

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If there was one player that suprised the Timberwolves coaching staff and teammates alike. It had to be the Norwegian, Patrick Thoresen (pictured). Thunder Bay is not a team that shies away from the fisticuffs. But when a rookie like Thoresen drops the mitts, it's something to talk about around the water cooler the next day. But when he drops the mitts twice, against guys named Vandermeer and Simon... and WINS?! Well, that's something to write home to mom about.

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Thunder Bay native, Eric Staal had quite a homecoming. Staal scored two goals, an assist and almost completed the "Gordie Howe Hattrick" when he got into a shoving match with Dustin Byfuglien. No dice though, as both players were seperated before things escalated.

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The Timberwolves homestand continues tomorrow night as they take on the Victoria Ronin. Then have one day off to travel to Sweden to take on Karlstad on Friday.

Prospect Watch: Oscar Moller

OSCAR MOLLER (RW)
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CHILLIWACK BRUINS (Western Hockey League)
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ACQUIRED:
December 10, 2007 from Karlstad, along with fellow Swedes, Niklas Grossman and Johan Ryno for Jason Pominville.
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VITALS:
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 177
Birthdate: January 22, 1989
Hometown: Spanga, Sweden
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STATS:
06-07--68gp-32g-37a-69pts-+1-50pim (Chilliwack)
*07-08--51gp-29g-37a-66pts-+13-32pim (Chilliwack)
*Season in progress - Tied for 14th in WHL points
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SCOUTING REPORT:
Has shown the competitive nature, grit and leadership expected from someone relied upon by an entire team. He is a solid two-way player and can be characterized as a “heart and soul” type with a tremendous shot. He projects as a gritty two-way forward that usually fits well as a compliment on the second line or as a high-energy leader on the third line.
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OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
2007 Captain of Team Sweden at U18 World Junior Championship
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The Timberwolves expect big things from Oscar in the future. He will likely be playing in Chilliwack for another season.

Dvorak named alternate

THUNDER BAY, ON, Canada- Joe Thornton was and will forever be the very first captain of the Thunder Bay Timberwolves. He will also be the only player in the 2007-08 season to wear the 'C' on a Timberwolves sweater. As the team has elected to go with all alternate captains to finish out the season.

The Timberwolves had, after Thornton's trade to North Dakota, named Stephen Weiss an alternate along with Keith Ballard and Tom Preissing. After Weiss' trade, a third alternate was not immediately named.

That changed on Sunday, when head coach Craig Hartsburg named Radek Dvorak the third alternate captain for Thunder Bay.

The announcement came after a light practice at Fort William Gardens. There was no press conference or fanfare. In fact, Dvorak was not even present for the announcement.

Dvorak currently leads the team in scoring, and is one of only a handful of veterens in the Timberwolves lineup.

Thunder Bay management has stated that the hockey club will name a captain in the offseason. It is rumoured that they are hoping that one of their young players will step up and carry the torch for many years down the road.

The Timberwolves will go through a full contact practice tomorrow at the Canadian National Gardens. Then welcome the Havana Moon to the CNG for the first time on Tuesday.

Showtime for young Wolves

THUNDER BAY, ON, Canada- It was deemed the 'Battle of Ontario' by the media outlets and fans alike. And it was a battle indeed between the Thunder Bay Timberwolves and the visiting Hamilton Predators.

If jetlag didn't play apart in Hamilton's slugglish play. It very well should have, as the Preds arrived in Thunder Bay in the late morning of today's game from Stockholm, Sweden where they played the night before.

Rookie centreman, Joe Pavelski opened the scoring in front of another sold out crowd at the Canadian National Gardens. For the first time in a long time, the goal came on the man advantage. "We've had our chances," said Pavelski. "Tonight it seemed like things were finally going our direction."

Hamilton and Thunder Bay exchanged goal for goal for the first six in the game. Then the Predators decided that was enough and added one late in the second period, and another one almost as soon as the Zamboni door closed.

In almost any other game this season, this would've been enough to down the last place Timberwolves.

But Andreas Karlsson brought his club within a goal only three minutes after Hamilton's fifth of the game.

Thunder Bay seemed to pick up their game after that goal. Hamilton started to tire, and the long flight from Sweden began to show and the Wolves ended up outshooting the Preds 17-to-9 in the third.

Rookie, Bill Thomas had probably his best game thus far in his young CCHL career. Thomas evened up the game at 18:49 in the third on another powerplay goal for Thunder Bay. He also finished the game with an astounding eleven shots on goal.

Overtime was not enough to declare a winner. As both teams skated to a 5-5 tie.

"Not a bad game," said Timberwolves head coach, Craig Hartsburg, "but we could've of been alot better. We have a ways to go. But this was definately a positive step forward."

The Timberwolves have the next two days off. They will welcome the boys from Havana to the frozen north on Tuesday.

Thomas nets first in CCHL

THUNDER BAY, ON, Canada- Right-winger, Bill Thomas (pictured) netted his first career CCHL and Timberwolf goal against Wisborg in a 5-2 loss in front of 19,434 (sold out) at the Canadian National Gardens in Thunder Bay on Valentine's Day.

Thomas was acquired from Beverly Hills on February 9th with the Lawmaster's fifth round pick for Christoph Schubert and cash.

Prior to being taken 70th overall by Beverly Hills in 2007, Thomas played two seasons at the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he managed ninety-five points in those two seasons.

Bill Thomas's primary linemate during his career at UNO (and his two seasons with the USHL's Tri-City Storm) was Scott Parse. Parse is currently with the Timberwolve's farm team in Duluth, Minnesota.

STATE OF THE PACK - 2007-08 Midseason Report

THUNDER BAY, ON, Canada- This being roughly the midway point of their inaugural season in the CCHL, the Thunder Bay Timberwolves sit dead last overall in the league. It does not appear that that current position will be much different at the end of the season.

All is not lost with this hockey club. This first season, yes. But there are young rookies like Joe Pavelski, Loui Eriksson, Bill Thomas, Patrick Thoresen and Alexander Edler (pictured) that are gaining some quality ice time and experience.

It also appears that next season may include more rookies making their CCHL debuts.

Currently having a spectacular season with the Timberwolves farm team in Duluth, Minnesota (Duluth Pups), defenseman Matt Niskanen is looking anything but his twenty one years of age. Niskanen, a Virginia, Minnesota native and former University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog feels at home and comfortable with his surroundings at the DECC (Duluth Entertainment Convention Center). As well he should. Not only is it the home of the Pups, but it's also home to the UMD Bulldogs as well as area high school teams and advancement tournaments for Minnesota's famed high school hockey championships in St. Paul. All of which, Niskanen played apart in.

As well as Niskanen, fellow defenseman Niklas Grossman is making a name for himself in Duluth. Grossman may not be as flashy as "Nisky", but his shutdown abilities from the blueline in have made him a very valuable piece to the Wolves puzzle for next season.

Also hoping to make an impact in next season's training camps are Bryan Little, David Perron, Sergei Kostitsyn, Torrey Mitchell, Karri Ramo and Thomas Greiss.

The Timberwolves currently holds the most picks in the upcoming Entry Draft with fourteen. Possibly the first overall, but for sure two in the top fifteen. Management won't tip their hat to who they hope to get if they do indeed get the first overall pick. Wherever the club's first pick falls, it should be a very good one. As this draft appears to be one of the deeper ones in the past few years.

Having the lowest payroll in the CCHL would normally mean you have the money to spend on free agents in the offseason. But don't expect Thunder Bay to be a player for any high priced stars. "We have obvious needs that will be addressed," said the Timberwolves general manager, Blake Wendt."But we will be looking for role players to fill in gaps and give our young guys plenty of playing time. We'd like to become more defensively responsible and not get blown out in games like has happened too many times this season."

CURRENT INTERNATIONAL SCOUTING SERVICES 2008 TOP 10:

1. Steven Stamkos (C)

2. Alex Pietrangelo (D)

3. Drew Doughty (D)

4. Nikita Filatov (LW)

5. Kyle Beach (C)

6. Luke Schenn (D)

7. Colten Teubert (D)

8. Cody Hodgson (C)

9. Colin Wilson (C)

10. Zach Bogosian (D)