The Lakehead Thunderwolves lost 6-2 to the Windsor Lancers in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,629 at the Fort William Gardens on Saturday night, and in the process were swept two games straight in the OUA West Division Finals.
The Thunderwolves struck first when Ryan Magill batted in a bouncing puck that careened off the stick of linemate Keith Grondin, giving Lakehead a 1-0 lead just 2:29 into the game.
Kelin Ainsworth put Lakehead up 2-0 at 12:05 by driving hard to the net and tucking the puck past Lancers goaltender Parker Van Buskirk. Mitch Fillman was credited with the lone assist.
Windsor replied quickly when Julian Luciani walked in and teed up a hard shot past Lakehead starting netminder Jeff Bosch at 12:57, and then 15 seconds later Evan Stibbard scored to tie the game at 2-2.
In the second period, Windsor got the go-ahead goal at the 6:56 mark when Kenny Bradford blasted a hard slap-shot past Bosch while Lakeheads Carson Dubchak was in the penalty box for slashing.
Lakehead had some good scoring chances, but Kelin Ainsworth was stoned in close by Van Buskirk and later Mike Hammond couldnt quite get a handle on the puck in front of the Windsor goal.
Windsor increased its lead to 4-2 on another power-play goal at 17:07 when Lancer Paul Bezzo scored on a strange bounce that eluded Bosch.
Then with only 1:20 remaining in the middle stanza, the Lancers took a commanding 5-2 lead on a bouncing shot from the point that was tipped in front by Evan Stibbard.
Justin McDonald replaced Bosch in the Lakehead goal to begin the third period, and the Wolves battled hard and had some great scoring opportunities in the final frame including a Mike Quesnele rocket that hit the crossbar.
Matt Beaudoin added an empty-netter with just over a minute remaining in the game to seal the 6-2 victory for Windsor.
The win gives the Lancers the OUA West Division crown and guarantees them a spot in the OUA Queens Cup Championship game against the winner of the Carleton vs. McGill East Division final, as well as a trip to the CIS University Cup tournament.
The Molson Three Stars of the game were:
1st Star Parker Van Buskirk, Windsor
2nd Star Evan Stibbard, Windsor
3rd Star Andrew Wilkins, Lakehead
Lakehead still has another chance to advance to the University Cup Championships, as this year is the OUAs turn to send a third team to the Nationals. The Wolves will hit the road next week to play the loser of the East Division finals in a one-game showdown at either Carleton or McGill to see which team will get the final berth in the six-team tourney.