The Lakehead Thunderwolves return home this weekend to take on an OUA West Division opponent that is definitely on the upswing the Guelph Gryphons. Game times are 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens.
Last Time Out
The Thunderwolves went on the road for the first time last weekend to play a two-game series at the Windsor Lancers. Always a tough team in Windsor; this time the Lancers were even more inhospitable than usual, defeating the Wolves 5-1 on Friday night and 3-0 on Saturday. Lakehead ran into a hot goaltender in Jim Watt, who stopped 79 of 80 shots over the weekend. Brock McPherson got the lone goal for the Thunderwolves in Fridays contest. The Wolves will definitely be looking to recapture their scoring punch this weekend against Guelph.
The Gryphons went 1-1 last weekend, losing 5-4 at Waterloo on Friday, but came back strong at home on Saturday with an 8-1 drubbing of Ontario Tech.
Series History
Lakehead leads the all-time series 19-3-2, but the Guelph hockey program has improved markedly in the last couple of seasons. The Wolves and the Gryphons played each other six times last season, with Lakehead winning every game, but most of them were tough battles.
The first series was the Thunderwolves home opener in early October, and Lakehead won those games 7-3 and 4-1. The second meeting between them was in Guelph in late November, where the Wolves were victorious 3-1 and 4-3. The third confrontation was in the OUA West Division semi-finals. Game one of the best-of-three series was played in Guelph, where Lakehead won 4-3 in overtime. The series shifted to the Fort William Gardens for game two of the series, and it was another overtime affair with the Wolves eliminating Guelph with a 5-4 win.
About the Gryphons
Guelph has played six non-conference games this season, positing a 3-3- record in those contests. The Gryphons opened up the season by defeating Brock, Laurier, and then Brock again to go 3-0. Guelph then lost its next three non-conference games on the road, all against tough opponents at New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island of the AUS, as well as Notre Dame of the NCAA.
The Gryphons have a 2-2 OUA conference record, with wins over Ontario Tech and Brock, as well as close losses to Western Ontario and Waterloo.
Guelph is led up front by forwards Thomas Kiriakou, Kris Belan, and Edward Gale. The trio led the Gryphons in scoring last season, and so far are doing the same this year. Their top scorer from the blue-liners is defenceman Timothy Priamo, and freshman goaltender Cody St. Jacques has been the main man between the pipes thus far.
Scherbans Take
Thunderwolves Head Coach Joel Scherban is eager to get his squad back on the ice. After a difficult weekend in Windsor, we look to get back on track against a very good Guelph team. Scherban said. Guelph was the hottest team down the stretch at the end of last season and gave us everything we could handle in the playoffs, he added. The Gryphons return a strong core of players and is one of the favorites to win the OUA West.