The Lakehead Thunderwolves will host the Nipissing Lakers for a pair of games in the Christmas Challenge at the Fort William Gardens on December 29-30, with the opening face-off set for 7:00 p.m. on both nights.
The Matchup
Lakehead: 8-6-1 conference record, 8-10-1 overall, 6th place in the OUA West Division.
Nipissing: 5-11-1 conference record, 7-12-1 overall, 9th place in the OUA East Division.
Last Time Out
Lakehead wrapped up the first half of its OUA season with a pair of 4-3 road wins at Laurier on November 25-26.
In the Friday game, the Wolves overcame a 3-0 deficit to snatch victory in double overtime, and in the Saturday rematch Lakehead withstood a late flurry by the Golden Hawks to gain the weekend sweep.
Nipissing dropped two close contests at Windsor on December 2-3 in its last games before the Christmas exams break.
The Lakers were edged 4-3 by the Lancers on the Friday, and then were nipped 2-1 the following evening.
Series History
Lakehead holds the advantage over Nipissing in the all-time series between the two teams with a record of 4-2 versus the Lakers.
Nipissing has taken the last two games against Lakehead however, after sweeping the Wolves by scores of 4-3 (in overtime) and 2-1 at the Fort William Gardens in November of 2015.
Ainsworth Rolling
Kelin Ainsworth has had a hot start to his final season at Lakehead, and leads the Thunderwolves in scoring with 25 points in 19 games played.
The fifth-year senior forward is currently in third place amongst all OUA West Division point-getters.
About the Lakers
The Lakers are relatively new to the OUA hockey scene, as Nipissing joined the conference in time to start play for the 2009-10 season.
Nipissing Head Coach Mike McParlands top scoring threats are junior forwards Colin Campbell and Brock Morrison, while sophomore Jimmy McDowell leads the Lakers defensive unit.
Sophomore netminders Domenic Graham and Jeremy Pominville have split time in the Nipissing goal and have posted similar numbers, with goals-against averages of 3.11 and 3.22 respectively.