The Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team begins the 2010-11 season with a two-game series this weekend versus the Ottawa Gee Gees. The opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens, and will kick-off the Lakehead University homecoming weekend.
Lakehead finished only two points out of first place in the competitive OUA West Division last season, posting a 19-7-2 record in league play. The Wolves went on to win the West Division playoff title last year by defeating York, Guelph, and Western Ontario; but lost 3-1 to East Division champion McGill in the Queens Cup Championship game. Lakehead then went 1-1 at the University Cup National Championships, defeating UQTR 7-2 before bowing out to Alberta 5-2 to end the season. The Thunderwolves overall record last season was an impressive 30-11-3.
Head Coach Joel Scherban returns for his second season behind the bench, and is looking to build on last years success. After 3 weeks of training camp, the team is anxious for some competition he said. Scherban added that We are looking forward to starting our season against Ottawa, and it should be a good measuring-stick for our team.
Lakehead and Ottawa have only met twice previously, with a 1-1 head-to-head record as both teams won in the others building. The Wolves downed the Gee Gees 6-2 in Ottawa in September of 2004, the only time Lakehead has travelled to the Nations Capital. Their lone meeting in Thunder Bay was later that season at the Varsity Cup tournament in December of 2004. In the Gee Gees first ever visit to the Fort William Gardens, they downed the Thunderwolves 3-1.
The Wolves are an experienced team with nineteen players returning from last years line-up, and have added five freshmen to this seasons roster for a total of 24 players. Ottawa is a much younger team, with ten freshmen and only one senior in the line-up.
The Gee Gees have already played two non-conference games this season and have posted a 1-1 record, losing 3-0 to Queens on September 17th and defeating RMC 5-3 on September 19th.