The Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team were defeated by the Waterloo Warriors 4-3 in overtime at the Columbia Ice Field in Waterloo, Ontario on Friday night.
The Wolves held the lead over the Warriors three different times during the game, but each time Waterloo replied and held the lead only once at the end of the game when it counted most.
Lakehead opened the scoring at 4:55 of the first period when Victor Anilane beat Waterloo goaltender Keaton Hartigan, with assists on the goal going to Trevor Gamache and Mitch Maunu. Josh Schappert of the Warriors tied the game 1-1 when he put the puck past Wolves goaltender Alex Dupuis at 11:26 to round out the scoring for the opening stanza.
The Thunderwolves regained the lead when Jordan Smith blasted a slapper past Hartigan at 9:44 of the second period. Assists on the powerplay goal were credited to Brock McPherson and Andrew Wilkins. The lead was extremely short-lived, however, as Waterloos Tyler Moir brother of Lakehead goalie Kyle Moir scored just 12 seconds later to knot the game at 2-2 heading into the third period.
Lakehead took the lead once again at 14:16 of the third on a Jadran Beljo goal from Maunu and Andy Hyvarinen to make it 3-2 for the Wolves. But Lakehead couldnt hold the lead for long once again, as Waterloos Thomas Cardiff slid one by Dupuis at 16:55 to even the score at 3-3 heading into overtime.
The Thunderwolves were put in a precarious position when Ryan McDonald was called for slashing during the overtime period, giving the Warriors a four-on-three powerplay advantage. Waterloo capitalized on the opportunity a minute later, when Kurt Thorner scored to end the game giving the Warriors a 4-3 victory.
The two teams meet again tomorrow night to complete the regular season, with valuable points for playoff seeding still on the line for both clubs. The puck drops at 7:30, and will be broadcast live on Rock 94 FM.