The Lakehead Thunderwolves beat the Toronto 5-2 in front of 2,270 fans at the Fort William Gardens on Saturday night to sweep the weekend series over the Varsity Blues.
Lakehead got on the board less than five minutes into the game when Andrew Wilkins stole the puck at the Lakehead blue line and fed a wide-open Ryan Magill who tucked the puck past Toronto goaltender Brett Willows while the Wolves were short-handed.
Lakehead increased its lead to 2-0 when James DeLory stepped out of the penalty box and lugged the puck into the Toronto zone and found Luke Maw who slammed the puck in the open net with Willows out of position. The other assist on the goal went to Carson Dubchak.
The period was highlighted by some spirited play from DeLory who also made a couple of big hits.
Most of the second stanza was a defensive battle until the end of the period when there was a sudden flurry of three goals.
Torontos Connor Cleverley found the back of the net at 16:30 of the period to cut Lakeheads lead to 2-1. But less than a minute later, Thunderwolves freshman Cody Alcock ripped a shot past Willows on the power-play to restore Lakeheads two-goal lead. The assists went to Mike Quesnele and Keith Grondin.
Varsity Blues forward Jeff Brown pulled Toronto to within one goal with Keith Grondin in the box on a fluttering wrist-shot that changed directions on the way to the net and found its way past Wolves goalie Jeff Bosch at the 18:53 mark.
Lakehead pulled in front 4-2 with its second shorthanded goal of the night when Andrew Wilkins converted a Carson Dubchak pass at 4:46 of the third period.
Bosch stood tall in the final frame, making some tough saves to keep the Wolves in front.
Andrew Wilkins added an unassisted empty netter in the final minute to seal the 5-2 victory.
The Molson Three Stars of the game were:
1.Andrew Wilkins, Lakehead
2.Carson Dubchak, Lakehead
3.Jeff Bosch, Lakehead
Lakeheads OUA record improves to 13-3 with the win, keeping the Thunderwolves in sole possession of first place in the West Division.
The Wolves are on the road next weekend for a split series against the Brock Badgers on Friday and the Western Ontario Mustangs on Saturday.