Preds Drop Wolves, Take Out Rook

THUNDER BAY, ON, Canada- The Thunder Bay Timberwolves played a solid all around game against their appointed provincial rival. But the losing streak continues as the Hamilton Predators leave The Lakehead with a 3-1 victory.
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"We were simply beat by the better club," said Wolves head coach, Craig Hartsburg. "I'm pleased with the effort from the players. But obviously not the outcome of the game."
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The Timberwolves stayed with the Predators for two periods. Sheldon Souray opened up the scoring at 4:35 in the first with a cannon from the point that Antero Niittymaki did not see coming. Joe Pavelski evened things in the first, beating Dominic Hasek high glove side.
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Less than a minute after Souray's goal, he quickly became the most hated man in Thunder Bay when he drove rookie defenseman, Alexander Edler (pictured) hard into the boards face first. Edler had to be assisted by trainers and teammates off the ice and is done for the season. To further infuriate the crowd, Souray was only given a two minute minor. "He should of been given the boot," said Wolves defenseman, Keith Ballard. "It was as obvious an intent to injure as there is. To basically lineup a guy with his back to you, and hit him as hard as he did. It's just disgusting."
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Sheldon Souray was the target of not only the fans whenever he touched the puck. But also the Timberwolves players themselves. Souray was bullseyed for several big hits for the remainder of the game. None bigger than when Matt Walker drove Souray hard into the Hamilton bench to the delight of the Wolves faithful. Souray responded by slashing Walker as he skated away. The two players jawed at each other as the play continued on before finally dropping their gloves. It took only seconds for the two Alberta natives to each land thundering punches. But in the end the 6'3", 230 pound Walker, pummeled the 6'4", 230 pound Souray and took him down hard to the ice.
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"It's great to see the guys sticking up one another," said Hartsburg. "I would expect nothing less when you lose a guy like Edler in such an unfortunate way. If we could just put more goals in their net than they put in ours we'd be in a different situation."
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The Timberwolves have the next two days off before welcoming the Southwest Scorpions to the Canadian National Gardens on Saturday.
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Injury Update: Dustin Byfuglien will be in the lineup against the Scorpions. Loui Eriksson and Bill Thomas should be ready to go in a week or less. Zack Stortini, who has been skating hard in practice could be ready to play before the season ends. Stortini is still wearing a red "no contact" jersey in practice and has not been given a timetable from the trainers or coaches on when he can take part in full contact sessions. Alexander Edler is done for the remainder of the season.

Injured Wolves Set For Returns

BEVERLY HILLS, CA, USA- Three of the four Timberwolves who are currently on the Injured Reserve are hoping to finish the season on the ice rather than the trainer's table.

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Rookie, Loui Eriksson (pictured) began his CCHL career with an amazing Training Camp and landed himself on the team's top line with Joe Thornton. Eriksson is third in points for the Timberwolves (2-19-21) even though he has missed twenty one games to injury. Loui hopes to be in the lineup for one or more games this season.

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Fellow rookie, Bill Thomas who suprised many when he was acquired from Beverly Hills and made an immediate impact Thunder Bay's first line. Thomas was heavily scouted by the Timberwolves staff before the 2007 Draft and they were completely aware of the talent he possesed. Thomas was brought in at the time to replace the injured Eriksson on the top line. He filled in admirably with thirteen points in eighteen games.

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Dustin Byfuglien is all but assured he will be back in the Wolves lineup soon. Like Eriksson and Thomas, "Big Buff" was thought to be done for the season. But the Roseau, Minnesota native has been skating hard in practice and even rid himself of a red jersey (worn by injured players) recently. Byfuglien did not travel with the team to California, but will join them in Winnipeg tomorrow. He still has not been cleared to play, but the more practice time he has with the team only helps in getting his game speed back. The Timberwolves are expecting Dustin back in the lineup by next Saturday when they play at home against the Southwest Scorpions.

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Thunder Bay plays the Law Masters tonight in what will be three games in three nights that will take them across North America and the Atlantic. The Wolves play Winnipeg tomorrow and head to Scandinavia for a game on Monday night against Wisborg.

No Goal Wolves Play For Next Season

THUNDER BAY, ON, Canada- This was one of the worst hockey games one could ever see in their lives. That being unless you are a Quebec Remparts fan.
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The Thunder Bay Timberwolves were once again playing in front of a packed barn. Don Cherry was here with the rest of CBC's 'Hockey Night in Canada' crew. This was another chance for the people of Thunder Bay to show off their passion for the national game. The fans were ready to go. Thier beloved hockey team was not.
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The fans were on Quebec's goalie, Robert Esche from the player introductions. The drawn out "Bobby" was alternated between the "Go Wolves Go" chant. It looked like this was going to be a fun game. Then came the second period.
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One second past the first minute and the Remparts Andrew Brunette quieted the crowd with his twenty fifth of the season. Eight and a half minutes later, Chris Drury had a pair and Quebec was up three zip. Drury finished the period with four goals. Quebec went to the locker room with a somewhat comfortable eight to zero lead. The game ended with two more goals in the third. Neither of which came off a Wolve's stick.
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"This was as bad as it gets," said Thunder Bay general manager Blake Wendt. "Games like this make it very easy for me to decide who will be here next season. No one." It may have been just frustrating comments from a GM immediately after watching his club get beat in every aspect of the game. But Wendt was just as harsh on his team this morning from his office at Canadian National Gardens. "I've said this many times. I don't get in an uproar if we lose a game. It's going to happen. Doesn't mean I'm fine with losing. I hate to lose. But a loss is alot easier to swallow if we're beat by the better team. If we show up and do our jobs, and just get beat by the better team, that's fine. But when you're beat because you quit... leave your jock at the door. Because you weren't using it anyway. I will not stand for guys that quit or play lazy out there. So we're dead last in the standings. So we're down eight, nine, ten to nothing. So what! Our building was filled up last night. It's filled up every night. They haven't quit on you. Don't quit on them! These last eighteen or so games will show me who wants to and will be here next season. Free agent or not... you don't play out these games for three periods to the best of your abilities. Then you're gone."
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The Timberwolves have the next two days off. They welcome in one of the CCHL's best, Denver Spurs on Tuesday.

Wolves No Show at Deadline, Portland

PORTLAND, OR, USA- This being the trade deadline in the CCHL, the Thunder Bay Timberwolves decided that the current lineup would not be changed to finish out the season.

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"We had a couple offers come in and go out," said general manager Blake Wendt. "But nothing we felt benefitted our club now or in the future."

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It was rumoured that defenseman, Tom Preissing was being shopped around the league. The Rosemount, Minnesota native has been one of the few healthy players on the Wolves blueline. But with the emergence of blueliners Matt Niskanen, Niklas Grossman and Alex Goligoski expected to make a push for roster spots next season, Preissing seemed to be more available than before. The Timberwolves of course will not name players involved in trade talks.

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The Thunder Bay hockey club arrived in the Pacific northwest yesterday after some brief, but much needed rest. That didn't seem to matter as the outcome of the game was as bad as most this season. The Owls put six straight goals behind Antero Niittymaki before the Wolves answered for a solo goal in the third. But Portland added insult to injury (literally) when they finished off Thunder Bay seven to one.

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The literal part of the "insult to injury" was the loss of the suprising youngster, Bill Thomas. The rookie was lost for the season with an undisclosed, but what appeared to be a shoulder injury. Thomas was acquired from Beverly Hills without having played a single game in his rookie season. He will finish his first CCHL season with six goals, seven assists for thirteen points in fifteen games. Thomas joins Loui Eriksson, Dustin Byfuglien and Zack Stortini in the press box for the remainder of the season.

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It's hard to find anything good when you are on the losing end of a seven to one game. But newly acquired free agent Matt Walker (pictured) has been more than willing to lay out in front of shots. Walker had a team high three against Portland. "Matt's been really good for us since we lost Buff (Byfuglien)," said head coach Craig Hartsburg. The Beaverlodge, Alberta native is a restricted free agent at season's end. It's unknown if he will be resigned or will even be able to make the club with guys like Niskanen, Grossman and Goligoski in the wings.

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The Timberwolves will play the North Dakota Ibex tomorrow night in Bismarck. This will be the first meeting against former Thunder Bay captain, Joe Thornton.

Wolves lose 'Big Buff' for season, get shutout

THUNDER BAY, ON, Canada-The Timberwolves returned home one night after playing in Germany. Then hopped right back on a plane for Sweden to play the Mooseheads on Wednesday night.

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"This travel schedule is a nightmare," said centre, Joe Pavelski. "At least we had our fans. But that was about all that made this feel like a home game. Get here in the late morning, get a little rest in a hotel close to the arena. No need to unpack at home since we're right back on the plane for Toronto, then back over the pond. This sucks!"

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The Timberwolves did not play the Calgary Chinook like a team that was ready to play. Although the players and coaching staff will not make excuses, anyone in the Canadian National Gardens on Tuesday night could see that they were physically and mentally tired.

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"At one point we had to honk the horn at Juice (Jussi Markkanen) because the period was over and I think he was asleep in goal and we had to clean the ice, eh," said Zamboni driver, Ted Danson. "I didn't know we had a horn, eh."

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Thunder Bay lost the game five-to-zero in front of their faithful fans. They were out worked and out played in every aspect of the game. But even more devestating than losing the game itself, the Wolves lost two more defensemen. Bryan Berard appears to have a mild concussion. He should be back in a few days. Dustin Byfuglien's injury was more severe. He went into boards skates first and will be out for the remainder of the season with a high ankle sprain. "We don't have the depth on the blueline to keep losing guys," said assistant coach, Mike Ramsey. "Keith (Ballard) was already out for this game. Buff (Byfuglien) had been developing every game this season. It's tough to lose a guy his size that can skate and move the puck around. It's unfortunate, but it's a part of the game. I'm sure he'll work his butt off in the summer."