A crowd of about 1200 fans was on hand to watch the annual Lakehead Thunderwolves Men's Hockey Team's East vs. West scrimmage game; a spirited affair that saw Team West defeat Team East 2-1. The fast paced game featured strong defense; some good offensive chances, and excellent goaltending by West netminder Kyle Moir and East goaltender Chris Whitley.
The scrimmage was probably the best in eight seasons of Thunderwolves Hockey with every player putting in a strong effort as they all vied for positions. The Wolves coaching staff will be making the next round of cuts based upon the scrimmage.
Freshmen Andy Hyvarinen and Adam Sergerie displayed some flash during the game; as did veterans Dan Speer and Mark Soares. Transfer Ryan Baird (Lake Superior State) also looked sharp defensively as well as offensively.
The game was split into two 30-minute halves. Team West had the majority of good chances in the first half and Whitley played very well. However Hyvarinen opened the scoring for Team West at 18:13 of the first period; firing a quick shot past Whitley after a nice setup from Speer.
The second half saw Team West open a 2-0 lead at 6:20 when Baird fired a rocket wrist shot over the shoulder of Whitley. However Team East picked it up at this point and got within one goal at the 21:00 mark when Brock McPherson banged it in from the front of the net. Moir was very sharp in the second period; making a number of good saves.
Lakehead Head Coach Don McKee liked what he saw on the ice Tuesday night. "I thought it was a very good sign that both teams put up such excellent defensive efforts; in stark contrast to last year's scrimmage that saw 13 goals. This change reflects growth in our returning players and the high level of skill of all the newcomers at camp. I thought Sergerie, Baird, and Hyvarinen played very well and Speer and Soares also looked like they were having fun out there tonight and put in very good efforts. Of course, it all comes down to the final line of defense and both goalies looked very sharp so early in the season."
The Wolves prepare for the season and home opening series against the Carleton Ravens on Sep. 26th and 27th at the Fort William Gardens.