The Lakehead Thunderwolves will host the OUA West Division-leading Windsor Lancers for a pair of games at the Fort William Gardens this weekend. The opening face-off is set for 7:30 on Friday and Saturday nights. These will be the last two games for the Thunderwolves before breaking for the Fall term final exams.
Last Time Out
The Wolves are coming off another road split. After winning 5-2 at Brock on Friday night, Lakehead fell 4-2 at Laurier last Saturday.
Windsor swept the York Lions at home last weekend, and only gave up one goal in the process. The Lancers shut the Lions out 2-0 on Friday, and then downed York 4-1 in the re-match on Saturday.
Series History
Lakehead holds a decided edge in the all-time series with Windsor, with a record of 35-11-0 versus the Lancers, but it was those same Lancers that eliminated the Thunderwolves two games to one in the best-of-three OUA West Division semi-finals last season. Lakehead won game one in Windsor 3-2 in overtime, and headed home needing only one more victory to advance to the division finals. But the Lancers beat the Wolves 4-1 in game two, followed by a 3-2 overtime win in the deciding game to bounce Lakehead from the playoffs.
First Place on the Line
Windsor sits atop the nine-team OUA West Division with 20 points (10-2-0), but Lakehead is only two points behind, making this a critical series for the Wolves (8-4-2) to stay in the hunt for first place.
About the Lancers
Windsor is on a hot streak, having won seven games in a row and nine of its last ten, and a big part of that is the fact that the Lancers have given up the fewest goals (27) in the OUA.
The Lancers Parker Van Buskirk is one of the best goalies in the league, and has already recorded two shutouts this season to go along with an impressive 2.35 GAA and a save percentage of 0.921. Van Buskirk was outstanding versus the Wolves in last years playoff series.
Windsors Spencer Pommells leads the OUA in scoring with 21 points, and fellow Lancer forwards Evan Stibbard and Drew Palmer are also prolific scorers.
Defencemen Steve Ferry and Christian Steingraber anchor the Windsor blue-line.
Teddy Bear Toss
Friday night is the L.U. Alumni Teddy Bear Toss, where fans can bring a new teddy bear to the game and throw it onto the ice when the Wolves score their first goal of the game. All teddy bears collected will be donated to several local childrens charities.