The Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team hosts the University of QuebecThree Rivers Patriotes for a pair of games this weekend in Thunder Bay, ON. The opening face-off is set for 7:30 on both Friday and Saturday evenings.
Division Leaders
This series sets up as a battle between the two OUA division leaders, and both teams are nationally ranked. UQTR leads the East Division with a record of 6-2-1, and is ranked #4 in the CIS Top Ten Poll. Lakehead leads the West with a record of 6-3-1 and is ranked #7 in the country.
Last Time Out
The Thunderwolves are coming off a weekend split at Carleton. Lakehead lost 6-2 last Friday night in Ottawa, but rebounded on Saturday afternoon with a 5-4 win over the Ravens.
UQTR collected three out of a possible four points last at home last weekend. Friday night the Patriotes lost 2-1 in an overtime shootout to Waterloo, and then defeated Brock 6-4 on Saturday.
Head to Head
Lakehead is 5-9-0 all-time versus UQTR. The Patriotes visited the Fort William Gardens in last seasons opener, winning the first contest 5-2 on the Friday. The Wolves put on a much better show the following night, defeating UQTR 5-1 in the Saturday game.
Scoring Punch
Four Thunderwolves are off to particularly fast starts when it comes to scoring this season. Thomas Frazee, Mike Hammond, Matt Caria and Luke Judson are all in the top ten of OUA scoring leaders.
About the Patriotes
UQTR is traditionally one of the strongest hockey programs in the OUA. The Patriotes have won eight OUA Queens Cup championships, the last one in 2006-07. UQTR won five consecutive Queens Cups from 1998-99 through 2002-03, a feat which will be very difficult for any OUA team to duplicate.
The Patriotes have also won four CIS University Cup National Championships, the most recent one coming in 2002-03.
UQTR is a very talented team with a lot of offensive firepower. Forwards Felix Petit, Oliver Donovan and Tommy Tremblay are the Patriotes three top scorers, and the Wolves defence will have to be mindful whenever these players are on the ice. Emmanuel Boudreau is the anchor of the UQTR blue line, and goaltender Marc-Antoine Gelinas is the mainstay in the Patriotes goal.