The No. 3 Lakehead Thunderwolves embark on a very tough three game road trip to Southern Ontario this weekend to take on the No. 10 Brock Badgers on Friday and Saturday in Ste. Catherines, Ont. and the Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday in Waterloo, Ont. Lakehead goes into the weekend with a 17-3-1 OUA record and are 24-5-2 overall. Lakehead is in second place in the OUA Far West Division, one point behind first place, and No. 2 ranked, Western. All games will be broadcast on 580 CKPR AM in Thunder Bay and via the internet at www.ckpr.com. Game times are7:30 p.m. ESTFriday and Saturday against Brock and 7:00 p.m. EST on Sunday vs. Laurier.
Brock is in first place in the OUA Mid West Division with a record of 13-6-2 (15-11-2 overall). The Badgers are two points ahead of second place York and five points ahead of third place Laurier. The Golden Hawks have a record of 9-9-3 in OUA play and 13-13-3 overall. A win for Laurier this weekend would assure them of third place in the Mid West as they are 7 points ahead of fourth place Guelph and the Gryphons only have four games remaining.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said his team knows how important this three game set is. "We are looking forward to playing the red-hot Brock Badgers who are also fighting for top spot in their division. Coach Nystrom has done a wonderful recruiting job and has them playing tough, two-way, team hockey. Our last road game of the year will also be very important for both teams as the Laurier squad will be looking for valuable points. Our last game against Laurier went to the final minutes and could've gone either way; so, it should be another exciting weekend of OUA hockey."
Series History Brock:
This will be the fifth and and sixth meetings between Lakehead and Brock. Lakehead is 3-0-1 against the Badgers in the previous four games, outscoring Brock 26-9.
Brock Head Coach Murray Nystromsaid it should a greathockey weekend in St. Catherines. ""We are extremely excited about the opportunity to host one of the best teams in the country this weekend. Even though it is late in the season, the two games to be played between Brock and Lakehead are very important as both teams are in a race for 1st place in their respective divisions, which should lead to some of the best hockey played in Niagara this year."
Series History Laurier:
This will be the eight meeting between Lakehead and Laurier. Lakehead is 6-1 against the Hawks in the previous seven games, outscoring Laurier 36-18.
Weekend Notes:
- Lakehead is second in CIS with 5.6 goals per game, Brock is ninth with 3.9 and Laurier 13th with 3.6.
- Lakehead is fourth in the CIS with goals allowed per game at 2.5, Brock is ninth at 3.1, and Laurier is 16th at 3.5.
- Lakehead has 117 goal for and 52 againts; Brock 82 goals for and 66 against, and Laurier 75 goals for and 74 against in OUA play.
- Lakehead's leading scorers are Jeff Richards (17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points; tied first OUA, third CIS), Joel Scherban (13 goals and 22 assists for 35 points; third OUA, tied ninth CIS), and Murray Magill (9 goals and 15 assists for 24 points). Richards is again scoring at an astounding rate this season, averaging 2.17 points per game.
- Brock's leading scorers are Jamie Young (9 goals and 17 assists for 27 points), Scott Mackenzie (11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points), and Corey Sabourin (5 goals and 13 assists for 18 points). Laurier's leading scorers are Nick Gibson (11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points), Matt Grennier (7 goals and 15 assists for 22 points), and Richard Colwil (6 goals and 14 assists for 20 points).
- Lakehead is fourth on the powerplay, scoring on 20.35% of their opportunities, Brock is 14th at 12.38%, and Laurier is 12th at 13.64%. The Thunderwolves are second in the OUA on the<