The Lakehead Thunderwolves kicked off the second half of the OUA season on Friday night against the Toronto Varsity Blues with a 3-1 victory in front of 2100 fans at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, ON.
Both teams had some great chances early in the opening period, but the slight edge in shots and play went to the Toronto. Lakehead goaltender Jeff Bosch was strong early on, making several difficult saves to keep the game scoreless.
The Wolves got on the board first after a clearing attempt took a strange bounce off the end boards and popped out in front of the net. Andrew Wilkins was there to tuck the puck into the open net, giving Lakehead a 1-0 lead at 11:52 of the first period. Chris de la Lande had the lone assist on the goal.
The Wolves jumped out to a 2-0 lead shortly after on a Mitch Fillman blast from the point that eluded Toronto goalie Brett Willows. The assists on the goal were credited to Keith Grondin and Mike Quesnele.
Toronto pulled to within one goal with just 30 seconds left in the opening frame when a bad clearing attempt was intercepted and fired past Bosch.
The second period didnt see any scoring but had plenty of physical play from both sides.
Both teams traded some great chances in the third period, the best of which was by Wolves forward Mike Hammond, but he was denied by Willows. Both netminders made some key saves for their respective teams to keep the score at 2-1 for Lakehead.
Carson Dubchak sealed the 3-1 victory with a late empty-net goal.
The Molson Three Stars of the game were:
1.Jeff Bosch, Lakehead
2.Mitch Fillman, Lakehead
3.Brett Willows, Toronto
The win improves Lakeheads OUA record to 12-3, and gives the Wolves sole possession of first place in the West Division.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens.