Lakehead hosts Waterloo in regular season finale

The Lakehead Thunderwolves will host the Waterloo Warriors for a pair of critical games to wind up the OUA regular season at the Fort William Gardens this weekend. The opening face-off is set for 7:30 on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Last Time Out

Lakehead is coming off a tough road trip that saw the Wolves fall 4-3 to the Western Ontario Mustangs on Friday, followed by a 6-3 loss to Brock Badgers on Saturday.

Waterloo won both of its games at home last weekend as the Warriors defeated Brock 4-2 on Friday and then downed Guelph 4-1 the following night.

Series History

Lakehead holds the edge in the all-time series with Waterloo with a record of 30-19-2 versus the Warriors.

The teams most recently met in the OUA West Division quarter-finals last season, a series in which Waterloo upset Lakehead two games to none.

Wild Wild West

The OUA West Division race is extremely tight, with only six points separating second-place Lakehead with ninth-place Waterloo, and only four teams out of ten have secured one of the eight available playoff spots.

With the exception of first-place Western Ontario, which has clinched first place and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, and tenth-place Laurier, which has been eliminated from playoff contention, the other eight teams in the division could all move up or down in the standings on this final weekend of the regular season.

With an OUA record of 15-8-3, Lakehead could still finish as high as second place, but could possibly drop to as low as fifth depending on the results around the league this weekend. The Wolves only need to collect one point to guarantee a fourth-place finish or higher, which would give Lakehead home-ice advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs.

At 12-11-3, Waterloo is currently just one point out of eighth-place, the final play-off spot in the division. The Warriors have the potential to move up to as high as fifth-place, but could also finish as low as ninth once all the smoke clears on Saturday night.

About the Warriors

Waterloo has some very talented players on its roster, especially up front. Forwards Justin Larson, Colin Behenna and Chris Chappell are all ranked in the top 20 for OUA scoring.

Joe Underwood is the leader of the Warriors defence, and is ranked fifth in OUA scoring for rearguards.

Justin Leclerc and Mike Morrison have split the goaltending duties for the Warriors this season.

Seniors Night

Lakehead will honor its graduating seniors in a pre-game ceremony before the game on Saturday night. Forwards Andrew Wilkins, Brennan Menard and Ryan Magill will all suit up for their final regular-season home games at the Fort William Gardens that evening.