The No. 8 Thunderwolves had an excellent first half of the OUA season and they would like to cap it with a TBayTel Varsity Cup title; something they havent won since the first tourney in 2002.
The Wolves posted a 12-3-1 OUA mark in conference play (13-6-1 overall) before the holiday break and are in second place in the OUA Far West Division and tied for third overall in the OUA with UQTR; behind Western and Brock in total points (Lakehead has a game in hand on Western and two on Brock). This year the Wolves feature a balanced offensive attack and perhaps their best ever overall defensive corps and an excellent goaltending tandem.
Lakehead Head Coach Don McKee said the team and coaching staff expect a very competitive tournament. The Wolves recognize that the three teams participating in the tournament all have the potential to win it. York, Toronto and Manitoba all peaked in their performances at the end of November. Manitoba beat third ranked Saskatchewan in back-to-back games. Toronto knocked off teams from the east, showing the similar strength in 2006 that helped them win the Varsity Cup. York finished the first half by solidly beating then tenth ranked Waterloo 6-3.
Offensively, the Wolves have been led by the SSM Line of Dan Speer (8 goals, 15 assists), Brock McPherson (13 goals, 9 assists), Mark Soares (5 goals, 14 assists), Tobias Whelan (3 goals, 11 assists), Andrew Brown (11 goals, 3 assists), and Kris Hogg (6 goals, 8 assists).
The Wolves have also received solid play from forwards like Shandor Alphonso (4 goals, 2 assists), Mike Wehrstedt (2 goals, 1 assis), Richard Molenaar (2 goals, 1 assist), Matt Maisonneuve (1 goals, 4 assists), and Brad Priestlay (1 goal, 3 assists). Other forwards like Devin Welsh (3 assists) and Nathan Breukelman have also looked good.
The D-Corps has been led by Jordan C. Smith (3 goals, 8 assists), Pierre-Marc Guilbault (10 assists), Andy Zulyniak (2 goals, 6 assists), and Matt Jacques (3 assists). Drew Kivell (2 assists) and Mitch Maunu (2 assists) have been very solid defensively while Jordan B. Smith (3 assists) has also shown flashes of his offensive capability.
Chris Whitley had an excellent first half; posting a 9-0 record, GAA of 2.18, and SV% of .921. Freshman Kyle Moir has also looked very good; recording a 3-4 mark, GAA of 2.73, and SV% of .902.
Lakehead 07-08 Results:
Dec. 1, 2007: Brock 6 Lakehead 5 OTS
Nov. 30: Lakehead 4 Brock 1
Nov. 24, 2007: Guelph 3 Lakehead 2
Nov. 23, 2007: Lakehead 3 Guelph 2
Nov. 17, 2007: Lakehead 6 OUIT 1
Nov. 16, 2007: Lakehead 5 OUIT 1
Nov 10, 2007: Lakehead 6 York 4
Nov. 9, 2007: Lakehead 2 York 1
Nov. 3, 2007: Lakehead 4 Western 3 OTS
Nov. 2, 2007: Lakehead 2 Western 1 OTS
Oct. 28, 2007: Laurier 4 Lakehead 3
Oct. 27, 2007: Lakehead 6 Laurier 3
Oct. 20, 2007: Lakehead 5 Waterloo 1
Oct. 19, 2007: Waterloo 7 Lakehead 3
Oct. 13, 2007: Regina 4 Lakehead 1
Oct. 12, 2007: Lakehead 7 Regina 2
Oct. 6, 2007: Lakehead 3 Windsor 2
Oct. 5, 2007: Lakehead 5 Windsor 1
Sep. 29, 2007: Alberta 3 Lakehead 1
Sep. 28, 2007: Alberta 3 Lakehead 0