WOLVES SOLID IN WIN OVER REMPARTS

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Quebec City, Que.- On Saturday against Quebec, the Timberwolves set the tempo early and vollied shot after shot on the Remparts goaltender and skated away with a 4-1 win.
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Devon Dubnyk held the fortress for as long as he could in the first period. But after facing 13 shots, it was the 14th from Shawn Horcoff that finally put the visiting Timberwolves on the board.
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"He was standing on his head out there," said Timberwolves forward Rick Nash about the Remparts goaltender. "We were given more than enough room in the offensive zone, and just kept peppering him while he kept stoning us. Luckily Horc got one in. Because he was kind of getting in our heads."
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In the second period, it was clear that the Horcoff goal had raised the psyche of his club. Marion Gaborik took all of :18 seconds to put Thunder Bay up 2 while on the power play. The assists coming from John Tavares and Jordan Leopold.
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Playing in his first pro game, John Carlson made an impact in his debut. Not for the good unfortunately. Just :29 seconds into the second, Carlson drilled Radim Vrbata face-first into the boards. Leaving the Quebec forward bloodied for the second time of the night after a fight with Dion Phaneuf in the first period. He would not miss a shift, but Carlson received 2-minutes for boarding and a 10-minute game misconduct.
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Captain, Patrick Sharp made it 3-0 while with the man-advantage again at 13:22 from Dion Phaneuf and Gaborik. That score would hold through the first 40 minutes of hockey.
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"I'd like to say that it's as simple as putting alot of shots on their goalie in order to win," said Sharp between periods. "But you've got to get alot of good, quality shots, and that's what we're doing here. Credit Dubnyk, he's stopping alot of them. But they're good shots from the boys."
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In the third period, Quebec drew the Remparts within two at :29 seconds in from PA Parenteau.
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The Timberwolves would answer at 13:49 with Cal Clutterbuck's first with his new team. Making it 4-1 and a score that would hold.
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"It's nice to get a couple in there with the man-advantage," said Timberwolves head coach Craig Hartsburg after the game. "I thought the guys did a good job keeping their goalie busy. He [Dubnyk] did a great job in his own right even in a loss. But we didn't let up none, and that's an improvement from the first couple games when we let teams come back."
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The Timberwolves will travel across the continent for the next game on Monday against the Portland Owls [3-1]. Centre Matt Duchene who was injured in the opening game will make is return then.
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3-STARS
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*Marian Gaborik [THU] - Game winning goal and an assist
**Cal Clutterbuk [THU] - Goal and 4 hits
***Devon Dubnyk [QUE] - 38 saves

CARLSON TO MAKE DEBUT IN QUEBEC

Hero from '10 WJC gold medal game for USA

Quebec City, Que.- The much anticipated debut of defenseman, John Carlson will take place on Saturday against the Remparts in Quebec according to Timberwolves coaches.
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"Carlson will start today in place of [Niklas] Kronwall," said head coach Craig Hartsburg. "He will play on the third pairing with Nick Schultz."
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Carlson has an extensive resume of coming up big in big games. No bigger than his overtime winner over Canada at the World Junior Championships on January 5, 2010 in the gold medal game for Team USA.
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Originally drafted in the second round of the 2008 Draft by the now defunct Lahr club, Carlson was drafted again in the Contraction Draft by the Timberwolves in 2010. Being drafted out the USHL from the Indiana Ice, he then went onto the OHL's London Knights where he played with Timberwolves centre and 2009 first-overall-pick, John Tavares before spending all of last season with Thunder Bay's minor-league affiliate the Duluth Pups. This pre-season, the opening night roster spot was between he and Niklas Kronwall. The veteren Swede won that night, but now it is the Massachusetts-born, New Jersey-raised blueliners turn.

RYAN JOHNSON PICKED UP OFF WAIVERS

Thunder Bay, Ont.- On Thursday it was announced that the Timberwolves have picked up centre/winger, Ryan Johnson off waivers. Johnson was released last weekend by the Fort Erie Falcons.
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Johnson, who has a history with not only the Timberwolves, but also a Thunder Bay-native will be in the lineup in Winnipeg this evening against the Ferrets.
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"Ryan brings in so many dimensions that we just couldn't pass by," remarked Timberwolves GM Blake Wendt. "Even at 35, he's still got it. Skates like the wind, plays smart, is excellent on face-offs, blocks shots and is just an all-around team player. His veteran leadership will be welcomed by our club and the city he grew up in."
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Johnson has been assigned the number 7.

WOLVES RUN OUT OF GAS

John Tavares

Thunder Bay, Ont.- The Timberwolves fell back to Earth on Tuesday when they were thumped 7-4 by the new Keflavik Whalers at home.
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Thunder Bay went on top early, when defenseman Marc Staal scored his first for his hometown Timberwolves at just :46 seconds into the game.
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Sophomore centre, John Tavares scored a pair at 1:25 and 2:41 with assists coming from Cal Clutterbuck and Milan Lucic.
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The Whalers would score a pair of their own, and one more from the Timberwolves right-winger, Mike Knuble ended the opening session's scoring at 4-2 for Thunder Bay.
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Keflavik controlled the second period, and add two more from Chris Stewart and Kristian Huselius to knot things up going into the third.
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In the third period it was once again all Whalers. A tally from Nathan Horton at 10:20 finally put the road club on top, only to be added to :19 seconds later with a two-goal lead coming off the stick of Huselius. Keflavik iced the game at 14:35 with a goal from Maxime Talbot to finish off the comeback with a 7-4 victory for the Whalers.
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"We got smoked," said a matter-of-fact Cal Clutterbuck after the contest. "I don't know if we just got too comfortable with that lead we had early. I don't know. But we let up them, when we clearly needed to put our foot on their throat and take them out."
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"We were horrid in the face-off circles," said head coach Craig Hartsburg. "They just about what, doubled up on us in that department [20-39]? If you can't control or at least play close in the circles, you don't have a chance. That's where puck possession starts, and where you dictate your game. We were beat bad there, and the score reflects that."
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The Timberwolves will hop the puddles west when they take on the Ferrets in Winnipeg on Thursday.
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3-STARS
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*Kristian Huselius [KEF] - 2 goals and 2 assists
**John Tavares [THU] - 2 goals
***Nathan Horton [KEF] - 2 goals and an assist

WOLVES TAKE OPENER; LOSE DUCHENE FOR WEEK

Thunder Bay, Ont.- Despite being down first, the Timberwolves scored the most important last goal in their 5-4 Opening Day win over the Calgary Chinook in the all-Canadian match up.
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Francois Beauchemin put the visiting Chinook up 1-0 at 7:13 with assists from Mikko Koivu and Kyle Okposo. A lead they held until 18:49 when newly named Timberwolves captain, Patrick Sharp tied things up while on the power play, unassisted. The Timberwolves leader led by example and less than a minute later at 19:43 took the lead for his club with an assist from his centre, Matt Duchene.
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Duchene, who was rewarded with a stellar pre-season with centering the Timberwolves top line would not play the final two periods of this opening game after laying out in front of a Brad Stuart shot that rolled up his body and struck his cheek just below his visor. X-rays were negative, but the second-year pivot will sit for the next week.
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Calgary's Mark Giordano brought the Chinook back at 12:01 in the second period. Only to be answered by the Timberwolves two-time 50-goal-scorer, Marian Gaborik at 12:25. Former Chinook, Dion Phaneuf got the primary assist on the goal for his first Timberwolves point.
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With six players dressed for Thunder Bay that were not on last year's club, there was bound to be first-time points to be had in their new sweater. At 2:20 in the third, defenseman Niklas Kronwall put the Timberwolves up by two for his first tally from Shawn Horcoff and Cal Clutterbuck. Their first points.
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In a span of six minutes, the Timberwolves lead was quickly evaporated off two Chinook goals from Okposo and Jakub Voracek. But at 14:41, alternate captain Rick Nash scored the game-winner from Milan Lucic and John Tavares.
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Thunder Bay's next game is Tuesday back at Canadian National Gardens when they welcome the former Havana Moon, now Keflavik Whalers to town.
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3-STARS
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*Patrick Sharp [THU] - 2 goals
**Rick Nash [THU] - Game-winning goal
***Kyle Okposo [CAL] - 1 goal and an assist

TIME TO PLAY FOR REAL

Niklas Kronwall

Thunder Bay, Ont.- The tune up games are over and Sunday marks the beginning of the 2011-12 CCHL regular season.
>>>For the Timberwolves, they take a 6-0 pre-season record for what it's worth, set their opening game roster and are looking forward for their tilt against the Calgary Chinook.
>>>"We're ready," said Thunder Bay GM Blake Wendt. "We have our team and are more than ready to get this thing going for real. Obviously there are some things we'd like to and need to improve on from the pre-season, especially our special teams [zero power play goals, and three short-handed goals against]. We'll keep a few guys up on a reserve/practise-basis and move them in and out for a few games to get a real good feel for our lines and pairings."
>>>So, how will things look on for the opener do you ask? Here you go...
First line: Matt Duchene centring Patrick Sharp and Marian Gaborik
Second line: John Tavares centring Milan Lucic and Rick Nash
Third line: Shawn Horcoff centring Cal Clutterbuck and Mike Knuble
Fourth line: Blair Betts centring Taylor Pyatt and a double shifted Gaborik
First D pairing: Dion Phaneuf and Jordan Leopold
Second D pairing: Marc Staal and Niklas Kronwall
Third D pairing: Nick Schultz and Anton Volchenkov
Starting goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist with James Reimer backing up
Reserve: D John Carlson, D Carl Gunnarsson, D Douglas Murray, F Antti Miettinen and F Colby Armstrong
Captains: Sharp [C] - Nash [A] - Schultz [A]

PRE-SEASON IN FULL SWING!

Milan Lucic

Thunder Bay, Ont.- The CCHL pre-season is upon us, and the Thunder Bay Timberwolves are off to a hot start with a re-vamped lineup and more abrassive style for the 2011-12 season.
>>>On Monday, the Timberwolves traveled across the country to take on the Victoria Ronin. A Marian Gaborik hat trick and three players with at least four points later, and the boys of the Superior lakehead skated away with a 7-1 victory.
>>>Tuesday saw the hockey club return home... well, for record-keeping purposes the Timberwolves were the home team when they took on the Dayton Musicmen at Mariucci Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
>>>Curtis Glencross put the Musicmen up early for his second of the pre-season at 2:25 in the first period.
>>>A two-minute minor for slashing by Dayton's Corey Perry on Milan Lucic caught the ire of the Timberwolves, but nothing would come while on the power play.
>>>At 15:59, Lucic transformed his disdain for Perry's slash into a tying goal with assists coming from Niklas Kronwall and Rick Nash.
>>>With forgiveness not in his mind, Lucic and Perry met again, had words and then gloves shed. Unfortunately for Perry, Lucic hits as hard as he shoots the puck and while the Thunder Bay combatant sat in the box for five minutes, the Dayton punching bag needed some parts of his face sewn up.
>>>Cal Clutterbuck would notch himself two assists in the second period with the helpers on goals by Mike Knuble and Marc Staal.
>>>The third would remain scoreless, and the Timberwolves took the 3-1 win.
>>>"This was a good, hard-fought win for us tonight," said Timberwolves head coach Craig Hartsburg after the game. "There's work to be done, and we're still sloppy in alot of areas. But I liked the tempo of this one, and guys standing up for themselves and for each other while not being stupid about it."
>>>As for the next game, it is likely that rookie goaltender James Reimer will see his first action. The young keeper from Manitoba has been stellar through training camp and looks to have solidified himself as Henrik Lundqvist's backup for this season. With Reimer, the Timberwolves will have a vastly different lineup than this one against Dayton. Especially on the blueline, where Douglas Murray and Carl Gunnarsson have been penciled in for this third game. With Nick Schultz and Staal getting a night off.
>>>Pre-season continues until Saturday. The Timberwolves home opener at Canadian National Gardens is Sunday when they take on the Calgary Chinook before a national audience as the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada game of the week [as the only all-Canadian season opener].
>>>"It's exciting," said Timberwolves GM Blake Wendt. "Seems like this has been a very long summer, and we're just itching to get going. We need to get some things ironed out here in the pre-season, and hopefully get off to a good start on Sunday against Calgary."

CAMP ROSTER THINNING OUT AS 10 SENT DOWN

Andrej Nestrasil

Thunder Bay, Ont.- Ten survivors of the first week of cuts at the Timberwolves' Training Camp were re-assigned to Duluth and their respective junior clubs on Wednesday.
>>>Heading to the Pups is forward, Brett Hextall and goaltender, Marc Cheverie. The son of legenday netminder, Ron Hextall, Brett turned pro in the spring after spending two seasons at the University of North Dakota.
>>>Returning to their Canadian Hockey League teams are Sault Ste. Marie's [OHL] Nick Cousins and Ryan Sproul, Stuart Percy to Mississauga [OHL], Brandon Archibald to Saginaw [OHL], Tony DeHart to Oshawa [OHL], Justin Sefton to Sudbury [OHL], Travis Ewanyk to Edmonton [WHL] and Brandon Davidson to Regina [WHL].
>>>"We like the depth we have still up here [at training camp]," remarked general manager Blake Wendt this afternoon. "We've sent alot of very talented players down for a variety of reasons. Most to refine and mature their game and add more strength and stamina. Our trainers and coaches are meeting with each of them individually with what they need to improve and some goals to accomplish for this season."
>>>As camp continues, there is still four 2011 draftees making the most of their auditions [Casey Cizikas, Andy Miele, Carl Hagelin and Justin Fontaine].
>>>Friday's cuts will likely leave only the remaining players likely to make this year's hockey club and pre-season games are likely to start next week.