The No. 4 Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team earned a tough 5-2 win over the Toronto Varsity Blues Friday night at historic Varsity Arena in Toronto.
The Wolves are now 22-3-1 in OUA conference play (26-7-1 overall); good for 45 points and the best record in the OUA; just ahead of UQTR (21-5-1 for 43 points). The Blues go to 13-13-1 in conference play and have one game left as they try to claim the OUA Mid East Division title in a tight battle with the Queens Golden Gaels.
Lakehead now has a ten-game uninterrupted OUA regular season winning streak; a new Thunderwolves record; and tie their OUA regular season consecutive win streak set in 02-03. The win also extends the Wolves regular season road wins record to 10.
Lakehead netminder Chris Whitley remains perfect with the win; raising his OUA regular season record to 15-0; a new Lakehead record. Lakehead outshot Toronto 44-29 on the night. Russ Brownell played an excellent game for the Blues; turning aside 40 Lakehead shots.
Lakehead had a balanced attack with goals coming from Mark Soares, Jordan C. Smith, Andrew Brown, Tobias Whelan, and Dan Speer. Smith, Whelan, and Speer each added an assist. The goals for Soares and Brown were their 20th of the 2007-08 OUA campaign; third in the CIS and the OUA behind Craig Voakes of Laurier and Anthony Pallotta of Toronto. Brown, Lakehead's "Captain Clutch" again came through as his goal was his 8th game winning goal of the season and Brown leads the CIS in this category; three ahead of Craig Voakes of Laurier.
Brock McPherson picked up two assists. The games output puts Lakeheads SSM Line of McPherson, Speer, and Soares at No.1, 2, and 4 in OUA scoring as of Friday night.
Torontos goals came from Sean Kliewer and Anthony Pallotta. Pallottas goal was his 22nd of the season; second in the CIS and OUA. Joe Rand assisted on both Toronto goals.
Lakehead finishes off regular season play against arch-rivals Western in London on Saturday and Sunday. Saturdays game in London goes at 7:05 pm EST, and Sundays starts at 2:00 pm EST.
The games against Western can be heard live on CKPR 91.5 FM radio in Thunder Bay with Bryan Wyatt calling the action and Jonas Gilbart handling the pre-game and intermission duties (On the net at www.ckpr.com). Western campus radio station CHRW FM 94.9 in London will also be broadcasting the Wolves vs. Mustangs games live and their broadcasts can be picked up on the internet at http://chrwradio.com/. The games can also be seen in London and Southwestern Ontario on Rogers TV.
Game Summary: Lakehead 5 at Toronto 2
1st Period
Scoring - 1. Lakehead, M. Soares (20) (B. McPherson, J. Smith) 11:53
2. Toronto, S. Kliewer (2) (J. Rand, A. Nagribianko) 17:33
Penalties - S. Duffy Toro (elbowing) 1:11, S. Fontyn Toro (hooking) 10:30, D. Speer Lak (hooking) 11:28, B. Sherrard Toro (tripping) 11:56, S. Alphonso Lak (tripping) 16:02, M. Heatley Toro (tripping) 16:02, J. Rand Toro (high sticking) 18:50
2nd Period
Scoring - 3. Toronto, A. Pallotta (22) (J. Rand, D. Simich) 7:52
4. Lakehead, J. Smith (6) (D. Speer, B. McPherson) 13:35
5. Lakehead, A. Brown (20) (T. Whelan, A. Zulyniak) 14:20
Penalties - B. Priestlay Lak (elbowing) 6:14, M. Maunu Lak (tripping) 6:47, K. Breutsch Lak (hooking) 19:37, B. Sherrard Toro (tripping) 19:50
3rd Period
Scoring - 6. Lakehead, T. Whelan (8) (K. Hogg) 11:57
7. Lakehead, D. Speer (13) (M. Soares, B. McPherson) 19:31 EN
Penalties - S. Alphonso Lak (hooking) 12:24
LAK Shots: 17 14 13 TOTAL: 44
Toro Shots: 8 11 10 TOTAL: 29
Goaltenders
Lakehead
Whitley 15-0-0-0