The Lakehead Thunderwolves open the second half of the OUA regular season on the road in Windsor where the Wolves will face a red-hot Windsor squad in a crucial two-game OUA Far West Division series. The Wolves (10-4-2 OUA, 13-11-2 overall) are second in the OUA with 22 points; behind the first place Waterloo Warriors. Lakehead has the same amount of points as Western but are second due to more wins. Windsor is right behind both Lakehead and Western with a 7-8 OUA mark (7-11 overall) and 14 points.
Both games can be heard live in Thunder Bay on 580 CKPR AM radio and online at www.ckpr.com with Bryan Wyatt calling the action and Jonas Gilbart doing the pre-game and intermission show.
The Lancers did not play during the holiday break but come into the series riding a six-game OUA winning streak. Lakehead played good hockey at its own T Bay Tel Varsity Cup tournament but posted a 1-2 tourney record.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said Lakehead will have to work hard this weekend in Windsor. "We are going into the Lancers house and it will be a real battle as they always perform well at home and they finished the first half on a very strong note. We will need to stay focussed for 60 minutes and we need to show more finish around the net . The second half is the real season and all games will be hard battles, these Far West points are crucial to our overall finish."
Head To Head:
The Wolves are tied for third in the CIS in goals for with 4.6 per game and tied for 8th in goals allowed at 3.1 per game. Windsor is 8th in goals for at 3.8 and tied for 16th in goals allowed with 4.4 per game. The Thunderwolves have an 20-5-1 record against Windsor; 16-5-1 in the regular season and 4-0 in the playoffs. Lakehead swept Windsor at home in October in their first two meetings this season.
The Wolves have outscored the Lancers 125 to 59 in their 26 previous meetings.
Lakehad Thunderwolves:
Lakehead played some very solid team hockey in the first half and have been led by junior centre Tobias Whelan whose 12 goals and 19 assists are third in the CIS and the OUA. Whelan is very smooth on his skates and when he has the puck he thinks quickly and calmly while on the fly. Whelan had some trouble scoring in the Varsity Cup and will need to regain his scoring touch for the Wolves to be successful.
Fifth-year senior captain Jeff Richards missed quite a few games due to injury and suspension in the first half but now that he is back the Wolves are obviously a much more dangerous team with their speedy CIS All Canadian and OUA All star. Richards has 7 goals and 7 assists in only nine OUA games. He also scored 5 goals and added 2 assists in the Varsity Cup tournament and was named a tourney all star.
Freshman sensation Mark Soares continues to impress with his relentless hustle and thrilling rushes and his 12 goals and 11 assists puts him tied for 5th in OUA scoring and tied for 8th in the CIS. Soares added five points in the Varsity Cup and his offense will be crucial against Windsor.
Senior forward Mike Wehrstedt (7 goals, 6 assists) continues to play steady two-way hockey as is fifth year senior Mark Robinson (4 goals, 7 assists). Wehrstedt played a strong game against Laurier in the Varsity Cup which is a good sign for the Wolves. Junior Richard Molenaar (3 goals, 10 assists) has impressed with his strong skating, penalty kill play, and playmaking. Sophomore centre Dan Speer (4 goals, 8 assists) continues to show flashes of his offensive talent and is also hustling on the ice for the Wolves.
Junior Andrew Brown (3 goals, 4 assists) continues to play solid two-way hockey and has been playing a lot of defense due to injuries to Lakeheads blueliners. Sophomore Shandor Alphonso (2 goals, 5 assists) continues to play hard-nosed hockey for the Wolves while junior