The Lakehead Thunderwolves will host the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the Crime Stoppers Christmas Challenge on Friday, January 2nd and Saturday, January 3rd at the Fort William Gardens, with the opening face-off set for 7:30 both nights.
Last Time Out
Lakehead wound up the first half of the season with a home split versus the second-place Western Ontario Mustangs on the last weekend in November. After being edged 3-2 in the Friday game, the Wolves bounced back with a 4-3 overtime win on Saturday to close out the fall term on a winning note.With a conference record of 6-9-2, the Thunderwolves are currently in sixth place in the ten-team OUA West Division.
Out of the Infirmary
The Wolves were plagued by a series ofinjuries to key playersthroughout most of October and November, but theres a good chance they could all be back in the line-up come January.
Defencemen Mitch Fillman, Nathan Bruyere and Andrew Tessier, as well as goalie Jeff Bosch and forward Cody Alcock all missed significant playing time this fall, but Bruyere, Tessier and Alcock did suit-up for the Western Ontario series.
Barring any setbacks, Bosch and Fillman are expected to see some ice time against UMD.
About the Bulldogs
Minnesota-Duluthis onceagainan NCAA hockey power, and with a 12-6-0 record this season, the Bulldogs are currently tied with Miami, Ohio atop the NCHC conference standings and are ranked 7th in the USCHO Top 20 poll.UMD Head Coach Scott Sandelin, a second-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens, is in his 15th season behind the bench andled the Bulldogs to an NCAA championship in 2011.
Minnesota-Duluth has a very balanced attack, featuringeight players within seven points of the teams top scorer; forward Dominic Toninato.
Defenceman Andy Welinski anchors the UMD blue-line, and netminder Kasimir Kaskisuo has handled the bulk of the duties in the Bulldogs goal, posting a 2.12 goals-against average this season.
UMD has five Canadian-born players on the roster.
Series History
The Thunderwolves are 0-6 in the all-time series versus the Bulldogs,andall of those gameswere playedin Duluth.When the two squads last met at the Amsoil Centrein early October, UMD rallied from a 2-1 third-period deficit to edge Lakehead 4-2.The Crime Stoppers Christmas Challenge will mark the first time the Bulldogshave visited the Fort William Gardens since 1964.