The Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team let a game that they should have won slip away as they lost 3-2 in an overtime shootout to the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks Friday night at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
The Wolves outworked, outskated, and outshot the Hawks on the night but could not convert the many scoring opportunities they had. Lakehead also looked like they were going for the perfect setup many times instead of just blasting the puck at Laurier netminder Jeff MacDougald.
MacDougald played a strong positional game for the Hawks and made a number of good saves; but many of the Lakehead shots were fired right into his mid-section and he smothered most of the rebounds. He was also strong in the shootout; stopping two of the three Lakehead shooters.
Lakehead outshot Laurier 45-26 on the night and controlled the play for much of the game. Lakehead netminder Kyle Moir played a solid game and made some good saves late in the game; one to rob Girard of the hat trick on a breakaway with nine minutes left and another good stop in overtime.
Lakeheads Brock McPherson tallied both of the Wolves markers while Luke Girard picked up both of Lauriers regulation goals. In the three-man shootout; Lauriers Nick Vergeer and Jean-Michel Rizk were successful while only Andy Hyvarinen could score for Lakehead.
Lakehead had powerplay opportunities but went 1-8 with the man advantage while Laurier was 1-5.
Lakehead now has a 2-2-1 record in OUA play and are 4-4-1 overall; while Laurier goes to 3-1-1 in OUA action.
As dominant as the Wolves were in the game; they still looked out of sync offensively and look to rebound in Saturday nights rematch as the two teams meet again at 7:30 pm EST at the Fort William Gardens and the Wolves will be hungry for a win to stay in the tight OUA Far West Division race.
Saturdays game will be videowebcast live on a pay-per-view basis with ordering information available at http://events.news-cast.com/events/Lakehead
Viewers will need hi speed internet and Windows Media Player to watch the broadcasts. Rock94 FM Sports Director Bryan Wyatt will be calling the play by play while Argus Sports Editor Mike St. Jean will be handling the pre-game, colour, and intermission duties with the broadcast beginning at 7:20 pm EST.
The Molsons Three Stars were:
1)Laurier: Luke Girard
2)Lakehead: Brock McPherson
3)Laurier: Jeff MacDougald
Game Summary:
Laurier 3 at Lakehead 2 - OTS
Oct 24, 2008 - Fort William Gardens, Thunder Bay, Ontario.
1st Period
Scoring - 1. Laurier, L. Girard (4) (J. Rizk, P. Magistrale) 13:37
2. Lakehead, B. McPherson (1) (J. Smith, A. Alphonso) 13:54
3. Laurier, L. Girard (5) (P. Magistrale, J. Rizk) 19:51 PP
Penalties - A. Maccarone Wlu (hooking) 1:45, C. Williams Wlu (hooking) 5:26, M. Maunu Lkhd (cross checking) 8:52, S. Alphonso Lkhd (slashing, roughing) 14:39, S. Alphonso Lkhd (unsportsmanlike cnd.) 19:13
2nd Period
Scoring - No Scoring
Penalties - K. Thomson Wlu (hooking) 2:55, R. Bernardi Wlu (slashing) 6:25, J. Borrows Wlu (hooking) 16:01, J. Smith Lkhd (interference) 18:16
3rd Period
Scoring - 4. Lakehead, B. McPherson (2) (R. Baird, D. Speer) 15:38 PP
Penalties - M. Galbraith Wlu (elbowing) 2:25, P. Magistrale Wlu (holding) 13:56
OT Period
Scoring - No Scoring
Penalties - R. Bernardi Wlu (tripping) 3:45
Shootout
Round 1 - WLU - Nick Vergeer - Yes
Round 1 - LKHD - Andy Hyvarinen - Yes
Round 2 - WLU - Mike Galbraith - No
Round 2 - LKHD - Ryan Baird - No
Round 3 - WLU - Jean-Michel Rizk - Yes
Round 3 - LKHD - Brock McPherson - No
WLU Shots:11 4 6 4 1 TOTAL: 26
LKHD Shots: 13 14 15 3 0 TOTAL: 45
Power Play Conversion
Laurier 1-5. Lakehead 1-8.
Goaltenders
Laurier
MacDougald 3-0-1-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 63:45 SV: 43 GA: 2 [W]
Lakehead
Moir 1-1-0-1 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 63:45 SV: 23 GA: 2 [SL]