The Lakehead Thunderwolves swept the No. 10 York Lions with a thrilling 5-3 win before a crowd of 3039 Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay. It was a game that York netminder Kevin Druce almost stole for the Lions as he turned aside 49 Lakehead shots in a game dominated by the Thunderwolves. But, led by the last-minute heroics of Mike Wehrstedt as well as the strong play of Mark Robinson, the Wolves would not be denied the win.
Wehrstedt scored two goals, the tying goal with 55 seconds left and the winning goal with 20 seconds left, and added two assists. Robinson notched his first-ever hat trick to notch Lakeheads other goals. Jeff Richards also played a strong game for the Thunderwolves. Darryl Thomson, Mike Mckenna, and Sean Langdon tallied for the Lions.
The Thunderwolves peppered Druce with 53 shots, but the York goaltender made a bushel of great saves to keep his team in the game. Saturdays game was much quicker than the sluggish pace of Fridays 6-1 win for the Wolves. Lakehead outshot York 53-24 on the night.
Lakehead began the assault early in the first and Druce kept closing the door. The Wolves finally broke through at 7:28 when Wehrstedt fed a lovely pass to Robinson who beat Druce 5-hole. York went on the powerplay and made it count when Thomson beat Lakehead netminder Grant McCune, with assists going to Marcus Smith and Tyler Harrison. Lakeheads Jeff Richards and Joel Scherban both hit crossbars in the period that saw the Wolves outshoot the Lions 19-9.
The Lions had some early pressure in the second and were rewarded when Mckenna fired a high wrist shot from the high slot that beat a screened McCune. The Wolves tallied back on the powerplay two minutes later when Wehrstedt won the draw back to Robinson who beat Druce with a quick snap shot. But, that was the only goal that Druce would allow in a period that saw Lakehead outshoot York 21-6.
The teams went into the third tied at two and Druce made more good stops in the early going, including a great save of Lakeheads Erik Lodge at 1:00. Lakehead took a minor at 6:32 and Yorks Harrison had a great opportunity when the Wolves McCune stopped the puck but he was unaware the puck was loose between his pads and Harrison pounced on it and backhanded it over McCune, the net, and the glass. Lakeheads Robinson was fed a nice pass on a shorthanded 2-on-1 break two minutes later and ripped it off the left York post. Lakeheads Richards then had two fantastic chances in a row but couldnt put it past Druce with the first and fired wide with the second.
Lakeheads Scherban was set up all alone and Druce performed robbery to preserve the tie at 12:00. York then took a penalty but a Lakehead defensive giveaway resulted in a shorthanded goal by the Lions Langdon at 12:20. Lakehead pressed and Erik Lodge fanned on a wide open net 20 seconds later. Robinson had another great chance at 16:50 when he fired the puck over a sprawled Druce but also over the goal. The Wolves went on the powerplay with just under two minutes left and it was time for Wehrstedt to perform his heroics. He made no mistake from the slot at 19:05, on a lovely set-up from Erik Lodge and Jason Lange. The ensuing centre ice faceoff was won by Lakehead and d-man Dan Rogers poked it up to Wehrstedt who blasted an ice level shot from the right side blue line that fooled Druce 5-hole at 19:40. York pulled Druce to try to get the equalizer but Scherban intercepted a pass and fed it to Robinson who completed his hat trick at 19:50 to ice the game for the Thunderwolves. Shots were 13-9 Lakehead in the third.
The Molson's Three Stars, as chosen by Jonas Gilbart of the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, were:
1)Lakehead: Mike Wehrstedt
2)Lakehead: Mark Robinson
3)York: Kevin Druce
The two teams face off again Saturday night at 7:30 pm EST at