The Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team will take on the Brock Badgers this Friday and Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens. Game time is 7:30 p.m. both nights, and will be video webcast live on thunderwolveshockey.com.
Last Time Out
Lakehead had its 9-game OUA winning streak snapped in London, Ontario last weekend, suffering 3-1 and 4-1 losses to the Western Ontario Mustangs.
Brock went one-for-two last weekend, winning 1-0 at Guelph on Thursday, before losing 4-0 at home to Windsor on Friday.
Series History
Lakehead is 17-3-3 all-time versus Brock. This weekends series will be the only regular season meeting between the two teams this year, due to the regular OUA rotating schedule format.
The Wolves swept the Badgers four games to none last season, but most of them were close contests. Brock came up to Lakehead in late October, with the Wolves winning the Friday game 4-0, followed by a 4-3 victory on the Saturday. The Thunderwolves made two separate trips to Brock last season the first was a 2-1 win in St. Catherines in late January. Lakehead then closed out the 2009-10 regular season with a 3-2 overtime win at Brock in mid-February.
About the Badgers
Brock has an OUA record of 8-7-6, good for fifth place in nine-team the OUA West Division. They are led by Head Coach Murray Nystrom, a Thunder Bay native now in his 13th year behind the Badgers bench.
Up front, Brock has a couple of high-scoring freshmen forwards that the Wolves will have to keep a close eye on this weekend. Matt Abercrombie leads the Badgers in scoring with 24 points in 21 OUA games played, and Kaine Geldart is close behind with 21 points. The blue-liners are led by junior Isaac Smeltzer and senior Joey Pell. Junior goaltender Kurt Jory has only missed one start this season, and has a respectable 2.86 GAA to go along with 2 shutouts.
New Face in the Line-up
Forward Jadran Beljo played in his first games for the Thunderwolves in London against the Mustangs, and will make his home debut this weekend against the Badgers. Beljo played five seasons in the OHL with Peterborough, Mississauga and London, as well as 16 games as a professional with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL. Beljo should be able to add some scoring punch to the Wolves attack.
Scherbans Take
Thunderwolves Head Coach Joel Scherban knows that Brock is another tough OUA West opponent. The Badgers are once again a hard working, disciplined, defensive hockey team, Scherban said. As divisional play heads to the home stretch, points are more valuable than ever as both teams are involved in the playoff race.