Article Courtesy of Leith Dunick of Thunder Bay's Source: (www.tbsource.com)
A single point separates the Lakehead University Thunderwolves and the Western Mustangs heading into the final weekend of first half play. Unfortunately Lakehead is out of games and barring a miracle, will hit the Christmas break in second place behind the Mustangs. Western wraps us first-half play this weekend with a home-and-home affair against the Windsor Lancers.
The good news is Lakehead still has four games to make up the difference against their archrival in the second half in what has become an annual game of catch-up. Then again, the playoffs are what really matter and the Thunderwolves hold a 2-1 advantage in that department. Lakehead coach Pete Belliveau has little to be down about his 10-2-0 squad, which was a perfect 6-0 at home, its only two losses coming on the road, identical 2-1 defeats at the hands of Waterloo in the season opener and York on Nov. 12. Still, Belliveau sees room for improvement when the regular season re-opens in the New Year. "Those two games might have been a lesson for us," said Belliveau following Saturday's 7-0 whitewashing of Ryerson in the friendly confines of Fort William Gardens.
Despite finishing off the pre-Christmas schedule with a pair of OUA lightweights in Queen's and Ryerson, Belliveau did take some positives from the games and hopes the good habits carry over into second half play. "I liked our composure this weekend, I liked our maturity. I like our leadership right now. I'll know more after the Bell (Varsity) Cup."
With nine rookies and 10 new faces on the team this year, Belliveau was fully aware it wouldn't be smooth sailing in the early going. Some of those players will go through trial by fire during the Bell Varsity Cup, stepping into unfamiliar roles with six regulars in Woodstock trying out for the World University Games team. The fourth-year coach is confident it's just another stride down the ice in their development as Canadian university hockey players. "There's a lot of hockey to be played, but so far we're happy with our play. In terms of our rookies coming in, they're learning the system and to be honest with you, we're building blocks and we're getting there."
Forward Chris Shaffer finished the first half with a flurry, scoring a pair of goals on Saturday to bring his total to 10, including non-conference play, and said he took more positives than negatives from the first 12 games. "We had a couple of letdowns there against York and the first game against Waterloo, but over the last eight games I think we really managed to step it up. On our back end the guys there have really stepped it up and we've got two lines that are really firing on all cylinders," Shaffer said.
It's hard to find fault with a team that leads the nation with 5.1 goals a game, and is also tops in its own end of the rink, allowing a paltry 1.4 goals a night, thanks in large part to newcomer Chris Whitley, a leading candidate for OUA and possibly CIS rookie of the year. Whitley has allowed five goals in six games, second only to top-ranked University of Alberta netminder Dustin Schwartz.
The biggest difference between the Thunderwolves of 2004-05 and the team from a year ago is up front. No longer is this a one-line team, the return of Peter Cava giving them a catalyst on the second line that has brought out a career year from veteran winger Murray Magill and forced LU's opponents to shift their defensive focus from the top line of Shaffer, Jeff Richards and Joel Scherban. The three were closely guarded until word started to spread around the OUA about the Cava-Magill connection.
No matter what happens at the Bell Varsity Cup or in the opening two regular season series against Windsor and Waterloo, the two dates against Western will be the main focus of the second half