Led by 4-point nights by both Devin Welsh and Mike Quesnele, The Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team defeated the York Lions 7-2 Friday night at the Canlan Ice Sports Arena in Toronto, Ontario.
Matt Caria opened the scoring for Lakehead at 8:17 of the first period on a powerplay goal assisted by Mike Quesnele and Mitch Fillman. Less than a minute later, Devin Welsh also scored while the Wolves had the man-advantage, with assists going to Andrew Wilkins and Mike Hammond, giving Lakehead a 2-0 lead.
Tyler McGee got York on the board at 6:03 of the second period when he beat Lakehead goaltender Alex Dupuis while the Lions had the extra man. York then tied the game at 2-2 when Rob Labute put one past Dupuis at the 14:14 mark. The Wolves responded swiftly when Devin Welsh scored his second of the game at 16:50, assisted by Fillman and Ryan Magill; followed by a Mike Quesnele goal from Welsh and Victor Anilane at 17:46 to give Lakehead a 4-2 lead heading into the third.
Lakehead put the game away in the final frame, scoring 3 goals in less than a 4-minute span. Trevor Gamache made it 5-2 on the Wolves third powerplay goal of the game at 9:35, with assists going to Fillman and Quesnele. At 12:07, Quesnele notched his second marker of the night with assists credited to Brennan Menard and Jake Carrick. Anilane completed the Thunderwolves scoring outburst when he beat York goalie David Blair at 13:45 on a goal assisted by Welsh and Ryan Magill.
Shots on goal for the game were 27-21 in favor of Lakehead.
The two teams will meet again Saturday night, when the venue shifts to Lakeheads satellite campus in Orillia, Ontario. The game will be broadcast live on Rock 94 FM, with the opening face-off at 8:00 PM.