The Lakehead Thunderwolves threw everything but an anvil at Laurier goaltender Jeff MacDougald, but it was the Hawks who flattened the visitors in a 4-2 Friday night win at Waterloo, Ontario.
The No. 8 Wolves (18-7-2) outshot WLU 42-22, including 16-4 in the first period but could not capitalized on their opportunities, dropping to third place in the OUA West, just one point up on the Hawks (17-7-3) with one game left on the conference schedule.
Freshmen Matt Caria (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) and Ryan McDonald (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) scored Lakeheads goals.
Laurier countered with tallies from Mike Gauthier, Jason Bergeron, Paul Bradley and Ryan Bernardi. Gauthier added an assists while Jordan Bonneville had two helpers. MacDougald, the fifth-year senior was the star of the night, however, making 40 saves to keep Laurier in the hunt for the third seed in the divisional playoffs.
Lakeheads Kyle Moir (Calgary) stopped 18 shots in the loss.
The Thunderwolves will play for two crucial points Saturday night at St. Catharines, Ontario against the last-place Brock Badgers. 91 Clarkson