The Lakehead Thunderwolves were defeated 4-3 by the Toronto Varsity Blues at Varsity Arena in Toronto on Friday night. The Blues win was their first over Lakehead since 2001.
Torontos Corey Jackson opened the scoring just 3:43 into the game when his point shot found its way through traffic to beat Thunderwolves goalie Jeff Bosch.
Toronto extended its lead in the final minute of the opening frame when Tyler Liukkonen picked off a Lakehead pass in front of the net and found Jeff Brown wide open off the far post to give the Varsity Blues a 2-0 lead after the first period.
The Blues had a great chance to pad their lead on the power play midway through the second period as Toronto peppered Bosch with shots and Patrick Marsh hit the cross bar, but it was Lakehead that struck next when Jay Gilbert's point shot floated through traffic and found its way past Blues netminder Brett Willows.
The Blues held a narrow 2-1 advantage heading into the final frame.
Marsh extended Torontos lead to 3-1 at 6:24 of the third period on a backhander that eluded Bosch. Lakehead responded when Cody Alcock wired a shot from the half boards into the top corner of the net to bring it back to within one at 9:48.
The Wolves Kelin Ainsworth knotted the score at 3-3 with a power play marker with 6:30 remaining, but Toronto's Christian Finch recorded the game-winner just 15 seconds later when he broke in all alone and beat Bosch through the five-hole.
Lakehead outshot Toronto 41-32 on the night.
The Wolves will have a short turnaround to prepare for the Ryerson Rams in a Saturday matinee at the Mattamy Centre, with the opening face-off set for 2:30 P.M.