Ontario Tech came into the game as the fourth-ranked team in the country, but the Ridgebacks left with their tails between their legs after being beaten 7-2 by the Lakehead Thunderwolves in front of 1922 fans at the Fort William Gardens on Saturday night.
Kelin Ainsworth led the way with a five-point game and Devin Green was solid in the Lakehead net for the second night in a row, but it was a total team effort by the Wolves from start to finish.
Lakehead scored three unanswered goals in the opening period, the first coming from Dylan Butler at 4:35.
Ainsworth put a move on Ridgebacks goalie Brendan ONeill that left him sprawled out of position before losing control of the puck, but Carson Dubchak pounced on the rubber and slammed it into the open cage at 8:13.
Freshman defenceman Patrick Murphy added another at 14:44 to round out the scoring in the opening frame.
Lakehead continued to pour it on when Ainsworth beat ONeill low on the glove side after breaking in on him alone just 51 seconds in the middle stanza.
Justin Sefton rifled a one-timer from the point on a Thunderwolves power play at 2:46 to put Lakehead up 5-0, and the Ridgebacks were reeling.
UOIT called a time-out to try to settle things down, and the ploy seemed to work when Anthony Latina fired the puck between Greens pads just over a minute later.
If the Ridgebacks were hoping for a miracle comeback, Brennen Dubchak put a dagger in their hearts by finishing off a fast break by the Wolves with 55 seconds left in the period, giving Lakehead a 6-1 lead after 40 minutes.
E.J. Faust added fuel to the fire when he tipped Murphys point shot past ONeill while the Wolves held the man-advantage midway through the third, extending Lakeheads lead to 7-1.
Mitch Bennett got a power play goal for the Ridgebacks with 40 seconds remaining in the game to complete the scoring.
For the night, Lakehead went 2-for-9 on the power play, while Ontario Tech was 1-for-7.
Total shots on goal were 30-29 for the Thunderwolves.
The Molson three stars of the game were:
1.Kelin Ainsworth, Lakehead
2.Dylan Butler, Lakehead
3.Devin Green, Lakehead
The victory improves Lakeheads OUA record to 4-4-1, and the Wolves will look to continue their winning ways next weekend when they travel to Kingston for a pair of games with the RMC Paladins.