The Lakehead Thunderwolves men's hockey club dominated the Nipissing Lakers 10-1 on Friday night at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, ON.
It didn't take long for Lakehead to make its mark, as just 42 seconds into the game Kris Hogg scored on a slapshot from the hashmarks; Jordan Smith and Brennan Menard had the assists.
Pierre Marc Guilbault then made a great defensive play as he slid to knock the puck away from a Lakers forward who was on a clean breakaway. That play proved to be important as coming back the other way, Brock McPherson found the puck on his stick, and flipped a backhander past Nipissing goaltender Kyle Cantlon, who was hung out to dry by the Laker defense. Assists were credited to Adam Sergerie and Ryan Magill. With the Lakers on their heels, Andy Hyvarinen fired a shot from the slot to put Lakehead in front 3-0, at just 2:28 of the first period.
The pace slowed down considerably after this, with both teams trading a couple of chances. At 14:00 of the first, Victor Anilane capped of a successful first period for the Thunderwolves with his first of the season, on a nice give-and-go with Matt Caria. The other assist went to Pierre Marc Guilbault.
The Lakers came out in the second a little more ready to play than in the first period, with a couple nice chances early on that Lakehead goalie Alex Dupuis had to be sharp on. The Lakers solid play didn't continue for very long though, as Ryan McDonald scored his 11th goal of the season on another nice feed from Caria at 7:21 of the second. Mitch Maunu had the other helper.
Kris Hogg scored his second goal of the game at 10:18 of the second on a clean breakaway. Hogg faked the forehand shot and slid the puck through Cantlon's pads. Guilbault was credited with the assist. That was about enough for Cantlon as he was replaced between the pipes by Billy Stone.
The third period brought much of the same as Lakehead controlled the play from the outset. At 3:03, Ryan Magill's shot trickled through Nipissing goalie Billy Stone's pads. The assists went to McPherson and Sergerie. At this point, the emotion was zapped from the game as Nipissing failed to gain any ground on the Wolves. After Nipissing captain Brodie Beard took a hooking penalty, Adam Sergerie blasted a shot that found its way in, putting Lakehead in front 8-0. Mitch Maunu had the lone assist. Ryan McDonald then increased Lakehead's lead to 9-0 on a great feed from Caria at 13:34 of the third. Victor Anilane had the other assist.
With the game well out of reach, Nipissing forward Dan Watt banged home a loose puck to break Dupuis shutout bid. It wasn't the last goal of the night though, as Lakehead found the net one last time at 19:48 of the third period. Andy Hyvarinen fired a shot past Nipissing goalie Billy Stone. The assists went to Mike Quesnele and Trevor Gamache.
The action continues Saturday night at 7:30 PM at the Fort William Gardens.