The CIS No. 6 Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team head to Waterloo, Ontario for another huge series against the No. 4 Laurier Golden Hawks this Friday and Saturday at the Sun Life Financial Arena.
Lakehead has a 16-6-1-1 record (22-9-1-1 overall); good for third in the OUA Far West; one point behind second place Western and three points behind the first place Hawks. Laurier has an 18-4-1 record in OUA play.
Lakehead is coming off two home losses to No. 10 Waterloo while Laurier is coming off an 8-0 mauling of Windsor and a big 5-4 win over No. 9 Western.
Lakehead Head Coach Don McKee said his team faces a stiff test this weekend. Laurier is definitely one of the most powerful teams in the OUA. They are strong from the net out but it is their offensive power that makes them the best team in the OUA West. It will be a big challenge for our players to rise to their level on the ice as Laurier appears to have peaked at the right time in the schedule.
Both games face off at 7:30 pm EST in Waterloo and fans can listen to the games live in Thunder Bay on Rock94 FM radio and online at www.rock94.com. Rock94 Sports Director Bryan Wyatt will be calling the action live.
Lakehead Milestones: The next win for the Thunderwolves will be their 200th overall win (conference and non-conference) in their eight seasons of varsity play.
Head to Head:
The Wolves are 19-12 all time vs. Laurier; 12-7 in regular season play, 3-1 in non-conference play, and 4-4 in the playoffs. Lakehead outscored Laurier 118-91 in those 30 games.
This season; the teams split their first OUA regular season series in Thunder Bay in the first half of this season and then the Wolves scored a thrilling 4-3 OT shootout win in the TBaytel Varsity Cup Tourney in Thunder Bay at the end of December.
Laurier leads the CIS in goals for; averaging 5 goals per game. Lakehead is tied for 8th with 3.8. The Hawks lead the OUA in goals scored with 126 while Lakehead is fifth with 92.
Lakehead is fourth in the CIS in goals allowed with 2.5 per game while Laurier is 9th allowing 2.9 per game. The Wolves are second in the OUA in goals allowed with 59 while the Hawks are tied for third with 67.
Lakehead Thunderwolves:
The Wolves are reeling with injuries but they still have an excellent team with which to face the powerful Hawks.
They will count on strong netminding from fifth-year senior Chris Whitley (8-2; GAA 2.30; SV% .925) and sophomore Kyle Moir (8-4-1-1; GAA 2.34; SV% .913).
Brock McPherson leads the Wolves offensively with 15 goals and 13 assists; 16th in OUA scoring. Sophomore Kris Hogg will also need to be big offensively; second on the squad with 12 goals and 12 assists.
Other Wolves who will need to score are Dan Speer (7 goals, 16 assists), Scott Dobben (9 goals, 10 assists), Mark Soares (8 goals, 11 assists), and captain Andrew Brown (5 goals, 13 assists).
Lakehead will need strong defensive games from junior Jordan Smith (5 assists), senior Drew Kivell (2 goals, 4 assists), and sophomore Mitch Maunu (1 goal, 2 assists). They will also need offense from the blue line from freshmen Kalvin Sagert (3 goals, 5 assists) and Bryan Wilson (3 goals, 4 assists) as well as senior Andy Zulyniak (1 goal, 5 assists) and sophomore Ryan Baird (9 assists).
Lakehead 08-09 Results:
Sat Jan 31 Waterloo 6 Lakehead 3
Fri Jan 30 Waterloo 3 Lakehead 1
Sat Jan 24 Windsor 3 Lakehead 0
Fri Jan 23 Lakehead 4 Windsor 3
Sat Jan 17 Lakehead 3 Ryerson 2
Fri Jan 16 Lakehead 8 Ryerson 0
Sat Jan 10 Lakehead 6 Queen's 2
Fri Jan 9 Lakehead 1 Queen's 0
Sat Dec 27 Lakehead 3 Manitoba 2 NC OT
Sun Dec 28 Lakehead 4 Laurier 3 NC OT SO
Mon Dec 29 Lakehead 5 Saskatchewan 4 NC OT SO
Tue Dec 30 Lakehead 4 Saskatchewan 3 NC Champ
Sat Nov 29 Lakehead 6 Guelph 3
Fri Nov 28 Lakehead 6 Guelph 4
Sat Nov 22 Lakehead 3 Brock 0
Fri Nov 21 Lakehead 3 Brock 0
Sat Nov 15 York 7 Lakehead 6 OL
Fri Nov 14 Lakehead 3 York 1
Sat Nov 8 Lakehead 6 UOIT 3
Fri Nov 7 Lakehead 5 UOIT 1
Sat Nov 1 Lakehead 5 Western 2
Fri Nov 31 Western 3 Lakehead 0
Sat Oct 25 Lakehead 6 Laurier 1
Fri Oct 24 Laurier 3 Lakehead 2 OL SO
Sat Oct 18 Lakehead 2 Waterloo 1
Fri Oct 17 Waterloo 7 Lakehead 5
Sat Oct 11 Lakehead 6 Windsor 1
Fri Oct 10 Windsor 3 Lakehead 1
Sun Oct 5 MN-Duluth 6 Lakehead 0 EX
Sat Oct 4 Saint Mary's 2 Lakehead 0 NC
Fri Oct 3 Lakehead 3 Saint Mary's 1 NC
Sat Sep 27 Carleton 3 Lakehead 2 NC
Fri Sep 26 Lakehead 3 Carleton 2 NC PPD Sat SO
Laurier Golden Hawks:
The fast and dangerous Hawks have a wide variety of skilled players that will pose a threat to the Wolves this weekend and they have proven they can score; leading the nation in offense and boasting four of the top six scorers in the OUA.
Jean-Michel Rizk leads the OUA in scoring with 19 goals and 27 assists and right after him is Mark Voakes with 12 goals and 34 assists. No. 5 in the OUA scoring parade is Nick Vergeer with 10 goals and 28 assists. Luke Girard has 18 goals and 16 assists for 6th place in the conference. Craig Voakes is another dangerous Hawk; scoring 13 goals and adding 9 assists in only 14 games.
The Hawks added a big group of players at the holiday break and they have made some noise; making an already strong team stronger. Clinton Pettapiece has a goal and 11 assists in 9 games while Ryan Bellows has 5 goals and 5 assists in 8 games.
Defensively, Chad Kennedy anchors the Hawks blueliners along with Adam Maccarone while star netminder Jeff MacDougald (17-3-1; GAA 2.60, SV% .912) is one of the best in the OUA and can win games for the Hawks on any given night. Mike Thomson is his able backup.
Laurier 08-09 Results:
Fri Jan 30 Laurier 8 Windsor 0
Thu Jan 29 Laurier 5 Western 4
Sat Jan 24 Western 5 Laurier 4
Thu Jan 22 Waterloo 3 Laurier 0
Sat Jan 17 Laurier 6 Queen's 1
Thu Jan 15 Laurier 8 RMC 3
Sat Jan 10 Laurier 6 Toronto 2
Sat Jan 3 Laurier 11 York 2
Sun Dec 28 Lakehead 4 Laurier 3 NC OT SO
Mon Dec 29 Manitoba 6 Laurier 3 NC
Sat Nov 29 Laurier 6 UOIT 3
Thu Nov 27 Laurier 7 York 3
Sat Nov 22 Laurier 6 UOIT 4
Sat Nov 15 Brock 6 Laurier 3
Thu Nov 13 Laurier 3 Guelph 2 OL SO
Fri Nov 7 Laurier 5 Brock 1
Thu Nov 6 Laurier 5 Guelph 0
Sat Nov 1 Laurier 6 Waterloo 2
Thu Oct 30 Laurier 4 Windsor 3
Sat Oct 25 Lakehead 6 Laurier 1
Fri Oct 24 Laurier 3 Lakehead 2 OL SO
Sat Oct 18 Western 4 Laurier 3 OL
Fri Oct 17 Laurier 6 Windsor 5 OL SO
Sat Oct 11 Laurier 5 Waterloo 3
Thu Oct 9 Laurier 5 Western 2
Sat Oct 4 Bowling Green 5 Laurier 1 EX
Sat Sep 27 Laurier 6 Ottawa 1 NC
Fri Sep 26 Laurier 5 McGill 4 NC
Thu Sep 18 Laurier 6 Guelph 0 NC