The Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team will be in Kitchener/Waterloo this weekend for a pair of games with the Laurier Golden Hawks. The opening face-off will be at 7:30 pm on both Friday and Saturday nights.
Series History
The all-time series between Lakehead and Laurier is very close, with the Thunderwolves holding a slight edge with a record of 23-19-0 versus the Golden Hawks.
Lakehead did not travel to Laurier last year; the only two games the teams played last season took place in Thunder Bay in early November of 2010. Laurier won the Friday night contest 6-5, but Lakehead rebounded with a 5-1 victory in the Saturday night game.
Last Time Out
The Thunderwolves are coming off an impressive home sweep of the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks last weekend. After a dominating 9-2 win on Friday night, the Wolves rallied from a two-goal second period deficit on Saturday to win 5-3.
Laurier earned a split last week; losing 4-2 at Windsor on Saturday, and then defeating cross-town rival Waterloo by the same score at home on Sunday.
About the Golden Hawks
Laurier has been one of the top teams in the OUA for the last six years, but has been slow out of the gate so far this season.
Laurier is a very young team this year. With no seniors in the line-up, the roster is made up of 9 freshmen, 9 sophomores, and 5 juniors.
Sophomore winger Thomas Middup is the Hawks top returning scorer. Forwards Mitch Lebar, James Marsden, Mitchell Good and Brent Vandenberg are all players that Lakehead will have to watch for.
Junior goaltender Ryan Daniels has been one of the best puck-stoppers in the OUA for the past two seasons.
Sun Life Arena, Lauriers home rink, has an Olympic-sized ice surface.
On a roll /Honor roll
Lakehead has won six games in a row, the longest winning streak in the OUA. A big part of that streak has been the scoring prowess of Matt Caria and Trevor Gamache, ranked one and two in league scoring. Caria leads the OUA with 16 points (6 goals and 10 assists), and Gamache is second with 13 points (7 goals and 6 assists). Gamaches 7 goals are also tops In the OUA.
Scherbans Take
Wolves Head Coach Joel Scherban knows that its no easy task winning at Laurier. "We look forward to another tough road test this weekend, Scherban said. Laurier features a number of returning players from a team that finished second in the OUA West last season, including the reigning OUA West Division MVP Ryan Daniels in net. Laurier is always a difficult opponent, especially at home where it didn't lose a game in regulation last season. If were to continue our winning streak, we must play complete, well-rounded games."