The Lakehead Thunderwolves return to OUA conference play this weekend with a pair of games versus the Windsor Lancers at the Fort William Gardens. The opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m. both nights.
Last Time Out
The Thunderwolves 9-game winning streak ended when they were swept by the Manitoba Bisons by scores of 5-1 and 3-0 at the RBC Varsity Cup Challenge on December 29th and 30th. In the first game of the series, the Wolves were thoroughly out-played by the Bisons. Lakehead played much better the second night, but couldnt solve Manitoba goaltender Steve Christie, who showed why he was chosen as last seasons CIS goalie of the year.
Windsor has lost its last two OUA contests, both by narrow 2-1 margins. The first of the two losses came at Nipissing on November 28th, and then at home versus Ontario Tech on December 4th. The Lancers didnt play any non-conference games over the Christmas break.
Series History
Lakehead is 30-9-1 all-time versus the Lancers, but didnt fare well down in Windsor last October, as the Wolves were swept by the Lancers 5-1 and 3-0. Coincidentally, Lakehead was beaten by Manitoba last week by exactly the same scores.
About the Lancers
Windsor enters the weekend with an OUA record of 7-7-3, good for seventh place in the very competitive West Division. But with 17 points, the Lancers are only 6 points behind the second-place Thunderwolves, a testament to how competitive the division is from top to bottom.
The Lancers have only one freshman on their roster, but they are not really a veteran team there are only five seniors on the squad. The bulk of the team is made up of sophomores and juniors, which bodes well for the near future of the Windsor program.
Lancers forwards to watch are sophomores Mike Lombardi and Ryan Caicco, as well as junior Kyle Lang. Windsors top blue-liners are sophomore Steve Ferry and Junior Matt McCready. Lancers goaltender Jim Watt has an impressive .930 save percentage and a 2.41 GAA, and was recently selected to the Team Canada squad that will be competing in the World University Games in Turkey later this month.
Scherbans Take
Thunderwolves Head Coach Joel Scherban is eager to get his team back on the ice for the second half of the OUA season. We look forward to our rematch with the Lancers. Windsor played very well against in October and will once again be a difficult match-up for us, he said. They are a hard working team with lots of depth.