The Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team had a rough season opener as they fell at home 3-0 to the Alberta Golden Bears Friday night at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay before 3200 fans.
Albertas record nows goes to 3-1-2 against varsity opponents and 4-1-2 overall while Lakehead begins the new campaign at 0-1.
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Derek Ryan, named first star of the game, led the Bears with a pair of goals while Dylan Stanley added the other Alberta marker. Lee Zalesky added a pair of assists. Alberta Captain Harlan Anderson was a force on the blue line all night for the bears. Alberta outshot Lakehead 47-20 on the night.
Lakehead netminder Chris Whitley looked fairly sharp as many of his 44 stops were good ones. Albertas Aaron Sorochan only had to face a couple dangerous chances but made sure nothing got past him this night.
The Wolves came out flying in the opening minute and had some strong pressure but once the Bears cleared their zone; the puck was seldom in their end for the rest of the period. Ryan notched his first at 2:32; assisted by Zalasky. Stanley made it 2-0 Bears at 5:51; with helpers going to Jason Fransoo and Chad Klassen. The Bears kept peppering Lakeheads Whitley and were rewarded at 15:05 when Ryan notched his second of the match; set up by Zalasky and Richard Haumula. Shots on goal in the first were 20-8 Alberta.
The Wolves played a little better in the second and play was often in the neutral zone with little flow to the period. However, the Bears outshot Lakehead 13-7 in the second. The third again picked up somewhat but it was Alberta that had the majority of the good chances and outshot Lakehead 14-5 in the final frame.
All in all, the Wolves looked slow on the ice; like a team playing their first game of the season against a very strong team with six games under their belts. At points in the game; the Bears were literally dancing around the Wolves. Lakehead fans will look for the Wolves to find their game legs on Saturday in what should be a much better second game. A bright spot for the Wolves was a few solid hits by Andrew Brown and Brock McPherson; but Lakehead has to turn that positive aggression into offense on Saturday.
The two teams face off again Saturday night at 7:30 pm EST and the game will be videowebcast live with ordering info available at the Wolves website at www.thunderwolveshockey.com.
The Molson's Three Stars, as chosen by Argus Newspaper Hockey Reporter Alan Wickware, were:
1) Derek Ryan: Alberta
2) Chris Whitley: Lakehead
3) Harlan Anderson: Alberta