The Lakehead Thunderwolves host the University of Toronto Varsity Blues this Friday and Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay. The Thunderwolves enter the weekend with a 6-3-1 OUA record (9-6-3 overall) while the Blues are 0-9-1 in conference action and 1-12-2 overall. Lakehead is battling for first in the OUA Mid West Division with Waterloo and Western as each team has 13 points but both have played two games less than the Thunderwolves. Toronto is in third place in the OUA Mid East Division.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau says the Blues always play Lakehead tough. We always have had great games vs. the University of Toronto, .and these two games won't be any different. Coach Lowe always has his troupe working hard and they are always good on the defensive side of the puck.
Toronto Head Coach Darren Lowe said his team is preparing hard to play the Thunderwolves at the very noisy Fort William Gardens. We look forward to playing in Thunder Bay. The atmosphere is great and university hockey truly appreciated. This will be a fantastic learning experience for our young team.
Head to Head:
The Wolves are 3-1-2 overall lifetime vs. Toronto; 1-1-2 regular season, 1-0 playoffs, and 1-0 non-conference. The Wolves have outscored the Blues 28-23 in those six games. Lakehead is averaging 3.3 goals for per game while Toronto averages 2.2. The Wolves are allowing a stingy 2.3 goals per game in OUA play while Toronto is allowing 5 per game.
Lakehead OUA Results:
Sat Nov 19 Lakehead 3 RMC 3 OT TIE
Fri Nov 18 Lakehead 3 RMC 1
Sat Nov 12 Lakehead 5 York 3
Fri Nov 11 Lakehead 6 York 1
Sat Nov 5 Lakehead 3 Laurier 0
Fri Nov 4 Laurier 5 Lakehead 2
Sat Oct 29 Lakehead 3 Windsor 1
Fri Oct 28 Lakehead 3 Windsor 2
Sat Oct 22 Windsor 2 Lakehead 1
Fri Oct 21 Windsor 5 Lakehead 4
A big question for the Thunderwolves this weekend will be who is on the injury list. Last weekend saw Mike Wehrstedt, Tobias Whelan, Brad Priestlay, Jeff Whitfield, Kris Calloway, and Grant McCune sit out. McCune, Callaway, and Priestlay are listed as day to day and may see action this weekend. Whelan may begin skating with the team next week. Whitfield is still at least two weeks away from lacing up the skates while Mike Wehrstedt is out for the foreseeable future as he is on a waiting list for an operation.
Jeff Richards looks to be the offensive catalyst for the Wolves as he has 12 points in 6 OUA games (6 goals, 6 assists) while linemate Joel Scherban also has 12 points on 5 goals and 7 assists. Richards was all over the ice against RMC and responded well to Lakeheads injuries which saw him double shifting as a fourth line centre. The third member of Lakeheads first line, Peter Cava, has one goal and 5 assists.
Forwards Jason Lange (2 goals, 5 assists), Murray Magill (2 goals, 2 assists), Mark Robinson (4 goals, 2 assists), Jason Lange, and Shandor Alphonso (1 goal) also played well last weekend against the Paladins and will be key this weekend. Depending on this weekends injury situation; defenseman Matt Jacques and Hugo Lehoux could see time again as fourth line forwards. Andrew Brown played well in Saturdays RMC game as he returned to the roster after missing Fridays game.
Mike Jacobsen continues to play very well and leads Lakehead defensemen with 3 goals and 4 assists. Erik Lodge is playing solid defensive hockey as well as notching 1 goal and 2 assists. Drew Kivell, Mike Self, Steve Rawski, and Dan Rogers played well for the Lakehead defense and need to continue this play against Toronto.
Chris Whitley has played excellently in the goal for the Thunderwolves and his stats place him 4th in the OUA and 8th in the CIS. He has a record of 5-2-1, a GAA of 2.04, and a save percentage of .935. If Grant McCune is still injured, Rob Cundari will be Whitleys backup against Toronto.