The No. 6 Lakehead Thunderwolves head to Guelph this weekend for two games against the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday and Sunday. The Thunderwolves (12-6 OUA, 20-14-1-1 overall) are coming off their first-ever away sweep of the Western Mustangs. Guelph (6-8-3-1 OUA, 7-11-3-1 overall) has been playing solid hockey over the past three games; recording wins over Brock and Laurier and tying York.
The series is crucial for both teams as Lakehead is battling it out in the tough OUA Far West Division with Western and Waterloo while Guelph is trying to gain ground on Laurier in the OUA Mid West Division. Both games can be heard live on 580 CKPR AM in Thunder Bay and online at www.ckpr.com with Bryan Wyatt and Chris Prystanski calling the action and featuring Leith Dunick as special intermission guest. Game times are Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm EST in Guelph.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said every game is crucial now. "We are pursuing our playoff drive against a team who defeated Western at the start of the year and who always plays us tough. We have our work cut out for us as both teams are fighting for playoff positions."
Lakehead goes into the series tied for second in CIS offense with 4.6 goal per game while Guelph is 19th at 3.1 goals per game. Lakehead is third in CIS defense allowing 2.4 goal per game while Guelph is 26th allowing 4.3 goals per game.
Head to Head: This will be the 7th and 8th meetings between the two squads with the Thunderwolves holding a 4-2 edge. However, most of the games between these two sides have been hard fought ones. Last season Lakehead won both meetings in Thunder Bay; 3-2 in OT and 12-3. Lakehead has outscored Guelph 34-24.
Lakehead will look to build on last week's effort against the Mustangs and will again count on offense from Captain Joel Scherban (11g, 11a tie 7th OUA scoring), Jeff Richards (9g, 13 a tied 7th OUA), Murray Magill (8g 10a 11th OUA), Peter Cava (5g, 11a), and Erik Lodge (5g, 10a). Austin Wycisk has picked up his offense after joining the line of Scherban and Richards and now has 3 goals and 10 assists. Tobias Whelan is the highest scoring rookie with 4 goals and 8 assists.
Goalie Grant McCune seems to be back in form and rookie Chris Whitley will also need to be sharp. The Lakehead defense, though plagued by injuries all season, has been playing some solid hockey. Mike Self has shown great improvement and Dene Poulin has also been sharp recently. Big Steve Rawski again needs to be a force in front of the Lakehead goal. The new speedy Hugo Lehoux will be with the team this weekend and will play Saturday but will sit out Friday's game due to suspension. Drew Kivell will not play again due to post-concussion syndrome. The defensemen shortage will likely see Andrew Brown and/or Jouni Kuokkanen playing some D this weekend.
Guelph Head Coach Jeff Reid said his team must play smart this weekend. "With only six games remaining, every game is very big pertaining to the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. Lakehead has a highly skilled and hard working team, so we have to make sure we come ready to compete for sixty minutes and work very smart."
Guelph has some players who can find the net led by Scott Rozendal who has 16 goals (2nd OUA) and 9 assists for 25 points and a tie for fourth in OUA scoring. Guelph's other big guns are Thunder Bay native Jesse Pyatt with 7 goals and 8 assists, Carson Clayton with 5 goals and 10 assists, and Darrell Cowen with 5 goals and 9 assists. Goaltender Ken Ritson (5-8-3, 3.94 GAA) has been very sharp between the pipes for the Gryphons during their recent three game undefeated streak.