The Lakehead Thunderwolves beat the Regina Cougars 6-3 on Friday night at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, ON. Matt Caria was once again on fire for Lakehead, scoring his 13th and 14th goal of the season, en route to a 4 point night.
Due to the unfamiliarity of the clubs, the game started with both teams feeling each other out. Lakehead had some great chances early on from Brennan Menard and Andy Hyvarinen, but were stymied by Regina goaltender Adam Ward.
The game settled into a nice flow, but then Matt Caria stole the puck and walked in front to put it past Ward, putting Lakehead up 1-0 at 7:11 of the first. The lone assist went to Victor Anilane. Kris Hogg put the Wolves up 2-0 at 12:56, from Brock McPherson and Adam Sergerie, when he found himself with some time in front of the net, and slid the puck past Adam Ward. The physical play picked up after the Wolves took a 2-0 lead. The two-goal lead didn't last long as Regina's Lucas Isley put one past Lakehead goaltender Kyle Moir, to cut the Wolves lead to 2-1.
Lakehead came out ready to play in the second period. Caria tipped a shot from Kalvin Sagert just one minute into the second to put the Wolves up 3-1. Kyle Moir was sharp in the second, making some key saves to keep the puck out. He couldn't stop them all though as Regina's Tyler Penny fired a shot past Moir, who had no idea where the puck was at 8:42.
Matt Caria, looking for the hat trick, was all over the ice in the second period, and was stopped on several great chances by Ward. At 19:45 of the second, Ryan McDonald converted on a beautiful feed from Caria, to put the Wolves up 4-2. The other assist went to Victor Anilane.
Andrew Wilkins had a very strong period, killing penalties with aplomb and hitting everything that moved.
Lakehead started out the third period throwing everything they could on net, trying to sneak one past Ward. The physical play continued, with players from both sides taking runs at one another. At 3:38 of the third, Brennan Menard scored on a terrific behind the back pass from Wilkins to put the Thunderwolves up 5-2. Not long after, Victor Anilane found a loose puck in front of the net, and backhanded it in, putting Lakehead in front with a healthy 6-2 lead. The assists were credited to Caria and McDonald.
Regina got back on the board at 8:13 of the third period on a goal from Adam McPherson, to cut Lakehead's lead to 6-3, but that was all they could muster.
The two teams meet again Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens at 7:30PM.