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Wolves Hammer Hawks 9-4

Fri Nov 05, 2004
Written by Mike Aylward
Photo by James Mirabelli

A crowd of 3389 noisy fans saw a display of offense as the No. 4 Lakehead Thunderwolves defeated the No. 10 Laurier Golden Hawks 9-4. Murray Magill paced the Lakehead attack with two goals and an assist while Captain Joel Scherban also scored two goals. Peter Cava had one goal and two assists while Jesse Baraniuk and Jeff Richards had two assists apiece. Drew Kivell, Andrew Brown, and Brad Priestlay each notched a goal and an assist while Mike Self scored his second of the season. Matt Grennier led the Golden Hawks with two goals while Eric Larochelle and James Edgar scored singles. Lakehead outshot Laurier 50-33. The win puts Lakehead's OUA record at 4-1-0-0 while Laurier's also goes to 4-1-0-0.

There was no trapping in this game. Action was very fast as both teams had some good chances early and Lakehead's Grant McCune came up with a big stop off Laurier's James Edgar. Laurier netminder Justin Day made a fine save off Lakehead's Andrew Brown who cut in from the left side and tried to stuff it by day. Grant McCune then made an incredible sliding stacked pad save to rob Edgar again. Laurier went on the powerplay and there was a wild scramble in front of McCune at 7:45 but the Hawks couldn't put it past him. Lakehead's Tobias Whelan then fired a low shot that trickled between Day's leg but an alert Hawk's dman cleared it as it was about to cross the line. Action stayed fast and Lakehead's Jesse Baraniuk fired a blast from the top of the left circle that Day deflected but the puck was rolling into the goal but again an alert Hawks' d-man knocked it out. But, this time the clearance went right to Lakehead's Murray Magill who fired it past Day at 13:52. Assists went to Baraniuk and Sean Stefanski. Laurier then stormed up the ice and fired some hard shots at Lakehead's McCune. Laurier drew a minor and Lakehead went on the powerplay. Day made a good juggling glove save off Lakehead's Mike Self. Self made no mistake 30 seconds later when he blasted a shot from the point that beat a screened Day at 17:01. Assists went to Jason Lange and Peter Cava. Lakehead's Brad Priestlay broke in on a breakaway which was stopped nicely by Day, but Andrew Brown knocked it in at 17:55. Assists went to Priestlay and Tobias Whelan. Some Lakehead fans started chanting "Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye" but Laurier's Edgar quickly silenced them when he knocked in a loose puck at 18:10; assisted by Nick Vergeer. Shots on goal were 15-14 Laurier in the first.

Defense went out the door at the beginning of the second. Laurier's Matt Grennier made it 3-2 at 1:44 when he beat McCune with a low shot that found the inside of the far post and went in. Lakehead's Brad Priestlay gave the 'Wolves a two goal cushion 30 seconds later when he knocked in a loose puck in front of the Hawks' goal. Assists went to Drew Kivell and Andrew Brown. Murray Magill made it 5-2 with his second of the night when he fired a shot over Day's shoulder at 3:01. Assists went to Baraniuk and Cava. Hawks Coach Steve Martell then changed goaltenders at this point; replacing Day with William Crothers.

Laurier's Matt Grennier scored a beautiful goal when heblew by a Lakehead d-man andbroke in alone on McCune and scored with a high backhander at 4:33. Assists went to Chris Di Ubaldo and Evan Weber. Lakehead then went back up the ice and peppered the Hawks' goal. Laurier's Cameron Black then lost his cool and hit Lakehead Captain Joel Scherban in the head and went in the box for a minor and misconduct for a head check. Lakehead's Cava made it count when he beat Crothers over the left shoulder with a blast from the point at 8:47. Assists went to Magill and Kivell. Laurier then went on the powerplay at the 12:00 mark. McCune made a good stop off a hard blast by the Hawks' Nick Gibson. Lakehead killed of the penalty and attacked the Laurier net with Andrew Brown and Jason Lange putting in a strong shift pinning in the Ha