Hello Thunderwolves Fans, and welcome to another season of Coach's Corner. With a new author this season, the title of Assistant Coach's Corner might be a little more appropriate, but I couldn't get anyone else to agree to the change.
We are now five games into the 04-05 schedule after two weekends of tough CIS non-conference hockey action. Coach Belliveau and the rest of our staff are pleased with how the identity of the team is evolving. This year's edition of the Thunderwolves should provide a good dose of the fast, hard-hitting, hard working, in-your-face hockey that Thunder Bay fans have come to demand from their teams.
Our two game set against McGill last weekend was the first home action of the season. The first year players have been told about the experience of playing in a Thunderwolves home game, and finally got to take in the atmosphere in the 'ol barn first hand.
After jumping out to a 6-1 lead after two periods on Friday night, we didn't expect to have to hold on to a 6-5 victory. However, this experience was helpful in our attempt to prove a point to our players: It doesn't matter who you are playing, or how big the lead is, we need to play sixty minutes of hockey every night. The guys showed the lesson was learned on Saturday night's 6-1 victory, with no-such letup in the third, despite having to kill a steady stream of penalties in the third period.
The depth of our lineup really showed on the weekend, with our twelve goals coming from ten different players. Erik Lodge and Chris Shaffer were the only multiple goal-scorers with two each. Congratulations to Drew Kivell and Francis Walker who each scored the first goals of their CIS careers on Saturday night. Captain Joel Scherban proved to be a game changer again on Saturday night, with a shorthanded goal while we were down three skaters against four, which extended our lead to 4-1. First year goaltender Chris Whitley has also impressed the coaching staff with his play early in the season, including two wins, a shutout and a stellar .971 save percentage.
We are preparing for a key non-conference Thanksgiving weekend, with three difficult games - Friday in Houghton, Michigan vs. Michigan Tech Huskies, and Sunday evening, Monday afternoon vs. reigning CIS National Champion St. FX X-Men. The X-Men have 15 returnees from their Championship team, and will truly provide us with an opportunity to see how we stack up against the best in the country. The last time these two teams met was at the inaugural Bell Varsity Cup in 2002, in what was certainly one of the toughest games played in The Gardens in quite some time.
Enjoy the games, and we'll see you at the rink!
Coach Nicholas.
Editor's Note: This season Coach's Corner will be coming to you from Lakehead University Thunderwolves Men's Hockey Assistant Coach Darrin Nicholas.