The No. 9 Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team lost 4-2 to No. 7 UQTR Saturday afternoon in a hard-fought game in Trois Rivieres, Quebec. The win gives the Pats the weekend sweep over Lakehead; the first time the Wolves have been swept in a two-game series this season. Lakehead now has a 9-4-1 OUA record (11-7-1 overall) while UQTR is now 9-0-1-3 in conference play and 12-3-2-3 overall.
Lakeheads goals came from impressive freshman Mark Soares and senior Mike Wehrstedt. Eric Beaudin led the Pats with a pair of goals and an assist while singles came from Christian Laroche and Van Gaudette.
The score was tied after the first at one apiece but Lakehead got into penalty trouble in the second and Les Pats took advantage and built up a 3-1 lead at the end of two periods. Lakehead got within one in the third and staged a furious assault on UQTR goalie Sylvain Michaud; firing 22 shots in the third. However, Michaud stood tall and then the Pats put the game away with an empty netter.
Lakehead outshot UQTR 35-28 in the game. The penalty whistle was not kind to the Wolves in the game as they were given 61 minutes in penalties compared to UQTRs 20; including a crucial 10-minute misconduct to Lakehead leading scorer Tobias Whelan in the turning point second period.
Lakehead returns home to the Fort William Gardens next weekend when it welcomes the McGill Redmen, one of the top teams in the OUA, for a crucial two-game series to complete the first half of the OUA regular season schedule.