The Lakehead Thunderwolves were narrowly defeated 3-2 by the Western Ontario Mustangs in front of 2283 fans at the Fort William Gardens on Friday night.
Special teams played a key role in the outcome, accounting for all but one of the five goals scored in what was a very exciting match.
Lakehead opened the scoring 6:07 into the game on a power play goal by defenceman Nathan Bruyere who was playing in his first game after missing a month with a shoulder injury. Bruyeres slapper eluded Mustangs goalie Greg Dodds, with Jake Carrick and Ryan Magill picking up the assists.
Western Ontario replied while the Mustangs had the man-advantage when Steve Reese beat Wolves netminder Justin McDonald at 13:08.
Stefan Salituro scored the only even-strength goal of the game with just over two minutes remaining in the first period to give Western Ontario the 2-1 lead heading into the second.
The Mustangs extended their lead to 3-1 at 16:06 of the middle frame with another power play goal when Julian Cimadamore received a nice feed in the slot and quickly fired it past McDonald before he could get set.
Lakehead controlled most of the play in a penalty-filled third period, and narrowed the gap to 3-2 when Andrew Tessier found astreaking RyanMagill who broke through the Mustangs defenseand slipped the puck between Dodds legs for a beautiful short-handed goal at 12:26.
Despite applying more pressure, Lakehead was unable find the back of the net for the remainder of the contest.
The Molson Three Stars of the Game were:
1.Ryan Magill, Lakehead
2.Stefan Salituro, Western Ontario
3.Carson Dubchak, Lakehead
The Thunderwolves will look to exact a measure of revenge when the two teams take to the ice again on Saturday night. The opening face-off is set for 7:30 at the Fort William Gardens in Lakeheads last game before the Christmas exam break.