The Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team visits Guelph, Ontario this Saturday and Sunday afternoon for two games against the Guelph Gryphons.
Lakehead enters the weekend with a 4-2 OUA record (6-5 overall) after splitting with Brock at home last weekend. Lakehead is tied for first with Waterloo in the tough OUA Far West Division. Guelph is 3-3 in OUA action (4-7 overall) and is in last place in the very competitive OUA Mid West Division.
Lakehead is 13th in the CIS in goals for at 3.8 per game while Guelph is 28th with 2.5. Lakehead is tied for 4th in the CIS in goals allowed at 2.7 per game while Guelph is tied for 12th with 3.8.
Both games can be heard in Thunder Bay on 580 CKPR AM Radio and on the net at www.ckpr.comwith Bryan Wyatt calling the play by play and Jonas Gilbart handling pre-game and intermissions. Both games face off at 2:00 pm EST.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said Guelph is always a challenge for the Thunderwolves. We will be playing a team which has always played us tough in their home rink. Coach Reid will have his players ready to play us hard, and we will have to compete for 60 minutes to come away with some valuable points."
Head To Head:
The Thunderwolves have a 9-2-1 record against Guelph; 7-2-1 in the regular season and 2-0 in the playoffs. The Wolves have outscored the Gryphons 61-37 in those 12 games. However, Guelph always plays Lakehead very tight. Last season Lakehead defeated Guelph 5-3 and 7-1 in their two games at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay.
Lakehead Thunderwolves:
Lakehead captain Jeff Richards will be not play against Guelph due to being assessed a match penalty so the Wolves will be looking for offense and leadership from Tobias Whelan whose 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists OUA; 7 goals, 9 assists overall) leads the OUA and is tied for the CIS lead.
The Wolves played well in the Friday 4-2 win over Brock but looked out of sync in the 3-0 shutout loss on Saturday to the Badgers; even though they almost doubled the Badgers on shots on goal in the loss (42-24).
Lakeheads powerplay was not its best against Brock and Lakehead will need to get better puck movement and better shot selection if they want to be effective.
Lakeheads penalty kill is effective; led by forwards Matt Maissoneuve and Richard Molenaar as well as Mike Wehrstedt and Brad Priestlay. Their play will be crucial this weekend.
With the absence of Richards; the Wolves will be looking for offense and two-way play from fifth year senior Mark Robinson, junior Andrew Brown, sophomore Dan Speer, and sophomore Shandor Alphonso. Freshman Nathan Breukelman could also make an impact with his playmaking creativity.
Freshman Mark Soares, Ryan Maunu, and Donnie Mitchell will need to contribute this weekend as well. Soares has the potential to become a breakout player for the Wolves this season as he adjusts to OUA hockey.
The Lakehead defense had some lapses against Brock in the Saturday game; but still played decent hockey for the most part. Lakehad will need strong play from freshman Jarryd Brend and sophomore Dan Rogers. Rogers will not play in Saturdays game due to suspension but will play Sunday. Matt Jacques will need to quarterback the defense and Steve Rawski and Drew Kivell will need to play careful defense. Rawski played excellent hockey against Brock in the Friday game where he picked up three assists. Defensman Mike Self has an upper body injury and will be out until the T Bay Tel Varsity Cup tournament in Thunder Bay over the holidays.
Goaltender Chris Whitley continued his strong play and his stats (4-1, 2.75 GAA, .930 SV%) puts him in the top 10 in CIS netminders. Matt Iorianni (0-1, 3.00 GAA, .880 SV%) had a decent game in his first OUA start although he did record a loss.
Lakehead 06-07 Results: