It will be a dogfight in Thunder Bay as the CIS No. 3 Lakehead Thunderwolves welcome the Michigan Tech Huskies of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) to the Fort William Gardens on Friday and Saturday nights. The two teams met in Houghton, Michigan on October 8th with the Huskies scoring a 4-1 win over the Thunderwolves. Michigan Tech will broadcast the games on the internet via their broadcast partner, WKMJ radio, 93.5 FM in Houghton/Hancock, Michigan. Lakehead and Tech fans can listen to the game by going to the Michigan Tech Athletics website by clicking here.
Lakehead enters the series with 10-2-0-0 OUA conference record and are 16-4-1-1 overall. Michigan Tech plays in the WCHA, arguably the toughest conference in NCAA Division I hockey, and this year the Huskies are finding it tough indeed. They sit in 10th and last place in the WCHA with a 1-13-0 record and are 2-14-1 overall. They have lost 9 WCHA regular season games in a row and are winless in their last 11 starts.
This series is important for both teams as the struggling Huskies would like to use it to find some confidence and scoring touch while Lakehead will see just how much depth their squad has and how their mix of promising young recruits and remaining veterans can react to a very big challenge and build upon it. Lakehead will be playing without six of its star players; Captain Joel Scherban, OUA MVP Jeff Richards, defenseman Erik Lodge, goaltender Grant McCune, and forwards Murray Magill and Peter Cava. All six have been invited to the OUA All-Star Team tryout camp in Woodstock, Ontario from Dec. 15-19 to fight for spots on the the OUA team that will represent Canada at the World Winter Universide Games in Innsbruck, Austria from Jan. 12-22 of 2005. The Thunderwolves that make the OUA All-Star team will also be lost to Lakehead for two non-conference games against UQTR in early January and the first four crucial games of the second half of the regular season against OUA Far West Division rivals Waterloo and Windsor.
Head Coach Pete Belliveau said the series will be a big test of his team's depth. "We are very excited and nervous to host Michigan Tech for a great two games series; our fans can expect a very fast, skilled team who never stops skating and moving the puck. We are confortable in knowing that our depth will allow us to defend the team's honour with heart and passion."
Lakehead will look for scoring and leadership from Assistant Captain Chris Shaffer (10 goals and 8 assists). They will also be counting on rookie sensation Chris Whitley in goal to backstop the Wolves against Tech. Whitley has a 9-1-1 overall record, a GAA of 1.58, and a Save Percentage of .958. He has recorded 2 shutouts in his 6 OUA regular season starts; all wins. The Thunderwolves improved defense will have to be quick against the fleet Huskies and strong play from Mike Self, Drew Kivell, and Steve Rawski will be crucial. Jesse Baraniuk, Dene Poulin, and Jounni Kuokkanen can also deliver some offense from the blue line. Lakehead will need scoring from veterans like Jason Lange, Mark Robinson, and Mike Wehrstedt as well as talented recruits Sean Stefanski (4 goals and 11 assists), Andrew Brown, Brad Priestlay, Tobias Whelan (8 goals and 8 assists), and Francis Walker (point a game in OUA play). The grit and hustle of Leon Cooper and Austin Wycisk could also be key.
The young Huskies are led by Team Captain