(For first half photo gallery; CLICK HERE) The Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team is now on their exam and holiday break so its a good time to look back at the first half of the season before the Wolves hit the ice for the TBayTel Varsity Cup tournament from Dec. 27th to the 30th at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay.
Many Lakehead fans and local media pundits were unsure of what to expect with this years squad featuring a lot of new faces; a new Head Coach, and almost a new coaching staff. However, the team played very good hockey in the first half and posted a 12-3-1 OUA mark (13-6-1 overall); good for second place in the OUA Far West behind Western and tied for third overall with UQTR in the 18-team OUA conference. The Wolves are right behind Western and Brock in total points in the OUA West and Lakehead has a game in hand on Western and two on Brock.
The Wolves are ranked No. 8 in the CIS heading into the holiday break and are tied for third in the OUA in goals for with 64 and third in the conference in goals allowed with 41. Lakehead penalty kill has been good in the first half; killing off 81 of 95 penalties for a PK of 85.3%. The power play started slow but improved as the season went on; and now sits at 19-91 or 20.9%.
So far this season; the Wolves have featured a balanced offensive attack and played solid defensive hockey with an improving defensive corps. They have also seen stellar goaltending from senior Chris Whitley and solid netminding from freshman Kyle Moir. Whitley is unbeaten in OUA play at 9-0 and his stats place him among the leaders in the OUA and the CIS.
Offensively, the Wolves were led by the SSM line of Dan Speer, Mark Soares, and Brock McPherson. All three lead the Wolves in OUA scoring and each have at least 20 points and are all in the Top 20 in OUA scoring. Speer has come into his own this season making a number of beautiful setups, Soares is finding his groove and seems to be back on the scoring track, and McPherson has been the best overall forward for the Wolves in the first half of the season.
The forward line of Tobias Whelan, Andrew Brown, and Kris Hogg have also played well; and this line has the potential to do more damage in the second half. Whelan has handled the puck very well, Brown is second in team goal scoring and works hard on every shift, and Hogg is an offensive threat.
Lakeheads third and fourth lines need to produce more offensively but they have played excellent defensive hockey. Forwards like Brad Priestlay, Matt Maisonneuve, Richard Molenaar continue their strong defensive play and hopefully will find the opponents net more in the second half.
Senior Mike Wehrstedt seems to be showing his old spark and his return to form would be a big plus for the Wolves in the second half. Shandor Alphonso started out very hot but is a little snakebit in recent games; however he has the capability to change a game with his intensity.
Forward Nathan Breukelman has shown flashes of offensive magic but needs to be more consistent in the second half while Devin Welshs second half development could also be a factor.
The D-Corps is probably the most balanced and talented in Lakeheads seven-year history; notwithstanding the lack of a rushing defenseman in Wolves history like a Mike Jacobsen or Erik Lodge. This aside; the Wolves defence features talented players from No. 1 to No. 8. Jordan B. Smith is showing the promise that was expected of him and leads the defence in scoring as well as delivering a number of big hits. Pierre-Marc Guilbault is second in defensive scoring and is becoming more of an offensive player as the season goes on.
Mitch Maunu and Drew Kivell have played solid hard-nosed defensive hockey; keeping the front of the goal area clear and delivering timely bodychecks.<