Lakehead edged 2-1 by Western
It was a tight checking affair between both teams but Western came out on top.
Western would open the scoring in the first period when defencemen Eric Van Impe would find his defense partner Jake Gravelle with a cross ice pass and Gravelle would roof his shot on Christian Cicigoi to the dismay of the 856 fans at the Tournament Center.
After that the next period and a half would be tight checking at both end of the ice and not a lot of scoring chances by either team.
The third period would see the intensity increase as both teams would start to generate some chances and Western would take advantage of a give away just inside there own blue line and head up ice on a 2 on 1 and Zach power would wrsit a Owen Saye pass passed Christian Cicigoi to increase the lead to 2-0.
The Wolves would keep pressing and with their net empty Spencer Blackwell would eventually knock a rebound passed Western's Matteo Drobac to cut the lead to 2-1. They would not get any closer as Western would hold on for the 2-1 win and a 1-0 lead in the best of 3 first round series.
Molson 5 Forks 3 Stars of the Game:
1. Matteo Drobac Western
2. Zach Power Western
3. Spencer Blackwell Lakehead
The series will continue in London, Ontario on Saturday Feb 22 and if neccessary Sun Feb 23. Game time is 3pm both days