This match between two OUA opponents was a strange one. The Thunderwolves dominated play for most of the game, but the Blues would not give up and kept finding ways to keep the score close. In fact, Toronto was up 2-0 in the early going of the first period. The Thunderwolves were lead by Captain Joel Scherban with 2 goals and an assist, by Jeff Richards who used his lightning speed to generate offense and 3 assists, and by Chris Shaffer who added a goal and some fierce bodychecks. The Blues were lead by Ian Malcolm who scored one goal and an assist and skated hard throughout the game. The powerplay was in the forefront as Lakehead scored 3 of their 7 and Toronto 2 of their 5 with the man advantage.
Toronto jumped on the scoreboard quickly when Steve Devine notched a strange goal at 1:48 of the first period. Devine flipped a shot from the Lakehead backboard at Thunderwolves goaltender Cory McEachran which hit him in the back and fell into the goal. The Blues Ian Malcolm made it 2-0 at 6:28 when he intercepted a pass at his own blue line and streaked in on a breakaway and beat McEachran with a nice deke. From this point on, the Thunderwolves took control of play. Scherban made the score 2-1 at 7:18 on a powerplay goal from the slot set up by Mike Jacobsen and Jeff Richards. Blues goalkeeper Tim Knightwas sharp the rest of the period, making two great saves off Lakehead's Richards and Scherban. Thunderwolves defenseman Aaron Picinnin made the hit of the game when he crushed Toronto's Jessie Rycroft at centre ice at the 18:00 mark. Lakehead outshot Toronto 15-7 in the period.
Lakehead scored quickly at the 22 second mark on a powerplay goal by Mike Jacobsen, set up by some nice passing from Scherban and Richards. Toronto goaltender Knight faced 9 shots in the first five minutes and made some quality stops. However, Lakehead's Chris Shaffer made it 3-2 when he streaked down the right side and ripped a bullet snapshot over Knight's shoulder at 5:28. Assists went to Jeff Adduono and Murray Magill. Toronto replied quickly, when Tyler Middlebrook came from behind the net and beat Lakehead's McEachran high on the short side at 5:55. Chris Shaffer delivered a crunching hit on Toronto's Mark Hynes in the slot area of the Toronto end at the 8:00 mark. Lakehead again scored on the powerplay at 10:57 when Scherban one-timed a blast past Knight, set up by great passing from Bryan Duce and Richards. Toronto replied on the powerplay at 12:29, when Scott Johnson beat a screened McEachran with a shot from the point, with assists going to Mike Nason and Malcolm. Lakehead's Leon Cooper ended the scoring in the second when he banged in a rebound at 16:16, assisted by Jeff Adduono and Graham Shaw. Lakehead dominated this period but costly penalties allowed the Blues to stay close. The Thunderwolves outshot the Blues 14-4 in the second.
The first 5 minutes of play in the third was fairly even, but then Lakehead dominated play from that point on causing Blues goaltender Knight to come up with save after save. Lakehead's Wyatt Tunnicliffe made it 6-4 when he knocked in his own rebound after being set up nicely by Tyler Williamson and Robert Hillier. Toronto got back to within 1 at 15:37 when George Trifon beat Lakehead's McEachran with a low shot assisted by Brandon Barbowski. Toronto pulled their goalie and Ian Malcolm almost tied the game with 33 seconds left when he came in on McEachran all alone but the Thunderewolves goaltender made a great sliding pad save. Lakehead's Bryan Duce then carried the puck up the ice and slotted the empty net goal to make the final 7-5. Lakehead outshot Toronto 14-6 in the third period, and 43-17 in the game.
Thunderwolves Head Coach Pete Belliveau was happy with the victory. "We battled against a hardworking team that beat us last year. Tomorrow's game against Calgary will be another tough challenge but this is a challenge we look forward to. It's great f