The #2 seed Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team will meet the #5 seed Windsor Lancers in the best-of-three OUA West Division Semi-Finals. Game #1 will be played Wednesday night at 7:30 in Windsor, and will be broadcast live on Rock 94.3 FM. The series then shifts to Thunder Bay as Lakehead will have home ice for Game #2 on Friday, and if necessary, Game #3 on Saturday. The opening face-off is set for 7:30 at the Fort William Gardens.
Last Time Out
Lakehead beat the Guelph Gryphons two games to one in the OUA West Division Quarter-Finals last week. After losing 5-4 at Guelph in Game #1, the Thunderwolves returned home and won Game #2 by a 5-1 margin, and then eliminated the Gryphons from the playoffs with a 3-2 victory in Game #3.
Windsor swept the York Lions two games to none in its Quarter-Final matchup. The Lancers edged the Lions 5-4 in overtime in Game #1 at Windsor, and then completed the job with a 5-1 win at York in Game #2.
Series History
Lakehead leads Windsor in the all-time series between the two teams, with a record of 34-9-1 versus the Lancers.
The Thunderwolves played two road games in Windsor last November and won them both by narrow margins. Lakehead edged the Lancers 4-3 on the Friday, and then took a 4-2 victory on the Saturday. As part of the OUAs rotating schedule, Windsor did not travel to Thunder Bay during the regular season this year.
The last time Lakehead met Windsor in the playoffs was in a first round match-up following the 2002-03 season. The Thunderwolves swept that series over the Lancers two games to none, winning Game #1 by a 4-2 margin at Windsor, and then completed the sweep by crushing Windsor 11-2 at home in Game #2.
About the Lancers
Windsor completed the OUA regular season with a record of 15-12-1, good for 31 points and a fifth-place finish in the nine-team West Division.
The Lancers are one of the hottest teams in the OUA right now. Windsor finished the regular season with 6 straight wins, and after sweeping York in the Quarter-Finals, the Lancers have won their last 8 games in a row.
Windsor is a fairly young team, with a total of 14 freshmen on the roster. But many of those first-year players have adapted to CIS hockey quickly. Evan Stibbard, Ryan Green and D.J. Turner, the Lancers top three scoring forwards, are all rookies.
The Windsor defence corps is led by junior Steve Ferry, senior Matt McCready and fifth-year senior Scott Todd. Sophomore goaltender Parker Van Buskirk has been solid in net for the Lancers.