Lakehead's first year star forward Jeff Richards again led the No. 5 Thunderwolves as they defeated the Brock Badgers 9-2 at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay Sunday afternoon. Richards scored three goals and added an assist to add to his four goals and an assist in the Thunderwolves' 10-3 win on Friday for a nine point weekend. Richards now leads the Thunderwolves in goals with 20 and is tied for the lead in points with 32.
Lakehead controlled play for most of the game and Brock did not have many dangerous scoring opportunities. Lakehead scored four of their nine goals on the powerplay. Lakehead's Jason Lange added two goals and an assist, Jeff Adduono scored a goal and two assists, defenseman Erik Lodge recorded three assists, Matt Keny and Shawn Perring got two assists each, and Chris Shaffer potted a goal and an assist. Lakehead newcomer Kris Bragnalo scored his first regular season goal. Ryan Shaver and Scott Mckenzie scored for the Badgers.
The win lifts Lakehead's record to 16-6 in regular season play and an overall record of 21-10-2. Brock's record now stands at 8-14 in OUA play and 12-16-2 overall.
Brock's Ryan Shaver opened the scoring at 4:46 of the first, assisted by Pat Montgomery and Matt Osborne. Chris Shaffer replied for Lakehead with his 19th of the year at 6:24, with assists to Matt Kenny and Jeff Adduono. Jeff Richards made it 2-1 Lakehead at 17:25 on the powerplay, assisted by an excellent cross-crease pass from Mike Jacobsen. Lakehead's Jason Lange notched his 9th of the season on the powerplay at 18:27, set up from a good pass by Erik Lodge. Lakehead goaltender Cory McEachran made a good glove save off Brock star Joe Forte at the buzzer to end the first. Lakehead outshot Brock 13-6 in the period.
Lakehead put the game away in the second, starting with Jeff Adduono's goal at 1:57, assisted by Lange and Shawn Perring. Lakehead's McEachran made the save of the game when he robbed Brock's Scott Mckenzie with an incredible rolling-on-his-back glove save. Mckenzie came right back and scored Brock's second at 5:55, assisted by Derek McDonald. Richards got his second at 13:07 while both teams were playing 4 on 4 hockey. Lange got his second of the game at 14:31 on the powerplay, set up by Chris Shaffer and Adduono. Richards completed his hat trick 8 seconds later, with Lakehead still on the powerplay, when he beat Brock goaltender Shane Delaronde with a blast into the top right corner. Kris Bragnalo made it 8-2 at 16:56, assisted by Erik Lodge. Lakehead outshot Brock 12-5 in the second.
Play got ugly in the third and culminated in a melee at the 8:26 mark. Lakehead's Hugo Lehoux bested Brock's Damir Brujic in a display of pugilism that was the highlight of the overall battle. Lakehead's Bryan Duce scored his 12th of the year at 15:28 to end the scoring, assisted by Kenny and Richards. The game ended on a sour note with more penalties and misconducts to both teams. Lakehead outshot Brock 18-5 in the third and 43-16 in the game.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau was happy with his team's effort. "We played better overall today than Friday. We were much better defensively, limiting Brock to only 16 shots. This is something we can build on for the playoffs."
The Three Stars, as selected by Reuben Villagracia of the Chronicle Journal, were:
1)Jeff Richards: Lakehead
2)Jeff Adduono: Lakehead
3)Jason Lange: Lakehead
My T-Wolves Shoutouts go to Shawn Perring for playing great all-around hockey, Erik Lodge for picking up the offense and shooting more, and Aaron Piccinin for his great Bobby Orr-like rushes!
Lakehead will host the Windsor Lancers next weekend in Thunder Bay for both teams' last two games of the OUA regular season. The two games will serve as a preview for the OUA Far West Division semi-finals which will feature Lakehead and Windsor the following week.