The Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team heads to Waterloo, Ontario this weekend for two key games against the Laurier Golden Hawks. The two crucial OUA Far West divisional games face off Saturday at 7:30 pm EST and Sunday at 2:00 pm EST and can be heard live in Thunder Bay on CKPR 91.5 FM radio and online at www.ckpr.com.
Lakehead enters the weekend with a 3-1 OUA record (4-4 overall) while Laurier is 2-2 in OUA play and 5-5 overall. Lakehead is coming off a home split with the No. 10 Waterloo Warriors while Laurier is 2-2 in OUA play; two points behind the Wolves, and coming off wins over Windsor and Western.
Lakehead Head Coach Don McKee knows this will be a battle. Going on the road to Laurier next weekend; it is important for the Thunderwolves to show consistency in winning after our victory over Waterloo. A winning streak is important in order to maintain a competitive position against the powers of the Far West Division; Laurier, Waterloo, and Western. After the our good start with two wins in Windsor, I am optimistic that the road can be good for his team but we know that the Golden Hawks will be a fierce opponent.
Head to Head:
The Wolves are 11-9 against Laurier all-time; 7-5 in regular season play, 2-3 in playoffs, and 2-1 in non-conference action. Lakehead has outscored Laurier 80-65 in those 20 games. However, last season the Golden Hawks beat Lakehead five times in five games. The Hawks swept Lakehead 2-0 in the OUA West second round playoffs (4-2 and 5-2), beat the Wolves in Thunder Bay twice in regular season play (9-3 and 6-5 OT) and finally won a 4-3 thriller at the Lakehead TBayTel Varsity Cup tournament in Thunder Bay,
Lakehead Thunderwolves:
Lakehead played two tough games against No. 10 Waterloo last weekend and the games were like night in day. In Fridays 7-3 loss; the Wolves committed quite a few giveaways. Although they did outshoot the Warriors and played them fairly even; Lakehead had problems converting their scoring opportunities.
In Saturdays game; Lakeheads defence tightened up, senior goaltender Chris Whitley (1-0, GAA 1.00, SV% .964) played a very strong game, and the Wolves had a very balanced attack in the 5-1 win. Kyle Moir is ready to play as well in the Lakehead goal. Special teams play also improved significantly from the Friday to Saturday game
This weekend the Wolves face one of their nemesis opponents in the Golden Hawks and will need to play a disciplined style of hockey in order to be successful. Whitley will start in goal Friday and his play will be key as the Wolves need to get a win in the Saturday game as the long travel and short turnaround time to Sundays afternoon game could play in favour of the host Hawks.
The Wolves improving D-Corps will need to shut down the speed of the Hawks without drawing too many penalties. Mitch Maunu and Jordan C. Smith (3 assists OUA play) played some fierce hockey against Waterloo and they will need to stay tough against the fleet Hawks. Andy Zulyniak (1 goal, 3 assists) played very well against Waterloo last Saturday and his offensive blueline leadership could be another key; as well as the play of Jordan B. Smith (2 assists).
Offensively, Lakehead will need a continued balanced attack but will also need players like Mark Soares (3 assists), Tobias Whelan (1 goal, 3 assists), captain Andrew Brown (2 goals, 1 assist), and Kris Hogg (2 goals, 3 assists) to put the puck in the net.
Shandor Alphonso (4 goals, 1 assist) has been the story of early season play for the Wolves and his continued high energy style this season can be a game breaker. Brock McPherson continues his play and his excellent puck control in the opponents zone make him probably the most effective overall forward on the Wolves so far this season.
Lakehead 07-08 Results: