The Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team begins OUA regular season play this weekend with a home series against the two-time defending Queens Cup champion McGill Redmen. Game times are Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 PM.
Last Time Out
The Wolves spent last weekend south of the border, dropping a 5-3 decision at Michigan Tech on Saturday night, followed by a 5-1 loss at Minnesota-Duluth on Sunday.
McGill also embarked a U.S. mini-tour in Colorado, playing three games in as many nights. The Redmen skated to a 2-2 draw at Denver University on Saturday, followed by losses of 3-2 to Colorado College on Sunday and 5-4 to the Air Force Academy on Monday.
Series History
Playing in separate divisions, Lakehead and McGill havent played each other very often, but some of the contests between them have been epic. Lakehead has hosted McGill for the OUA Queens Cup Championship on two occasions. The first came in 2006, when Lakehead won its first and only OUA title with a 4-0 victory in one of the most memorable nights in Fort William Gardens history. McGill exacted a measure of revenge in the 2010 championship, winning the Queens Cup by a 3-1 decision.
Lakehead holds a 5-1-1 advantage over McGill all-time.
About the Redmen
Located in Montreal, Quebec, McGill has the oldest hockey program in Canada, having begun play in 1877. The Redmen were extremely competitive until World War II, but the team fell on hard times for much of the last of half of the 20th century.
The McGill program has undergone a resurgence in the 2000s, winning three of the last four Queens Cup championships, including the last two in a row.
The 2011-12 edition is a powerful team, led by two high-scoring senior forwards; the reigning OUA scoring champion, CIS player of the year and All-Canadian Alexandre Picard-Hooper and his line mate Francis Verrault-Paul, also an All-Canadian who led the OUA in scoring the year prior.
Back on the blue line, the Redmen are anchored by senior team-captain Marc-Andre Dorion, last seasons CIS defenceman of the year.
McGill is also very strong in goal, boasting a pair of top-notch net minders. Senior Hubert Morin and sophomore Antoine Tardif were both in the top five last season in OUA goals against average.
The Head Coach of the Redmen is Kelly Nobes, now in his second season behind the McGill bench. He previously coached at Laurier, where he helped to develop quite a rivalry between the Golden Hawks and the Thunderwolves.
Good First Impressions
Out of the ten freshmen on the Lakehead roster, three first-year players have made their mark early on and appear to be ready for primetime in the CIS. Forward Mike Hammond leads the team in scoring, and was outstanding in recording a hat-trick versus UQTR in the home series opener. Defenceman Mitch Fillman has been impressive on the blue line, and goaltender Jeff Bosch has played two solid games between the pipes.
Scherbans Take
Thunderwolves Head Coach Joel Scherban is looking forward to the test that McGill will provide his new squad. "Were excited to continue our extremely tough early-season schedule against the McGill Redmen, Scherban said. Over the past two seasons McGill has had a tremendous amount of success both as a team and as individuals, as evidenced by their two straight OUA Championships and multiple national awards. McGill features as much high-end talent as any team in the country and well need to play at our best this weekend as we look to start the OUA season on winning note."