Jeff Richards' goal 6:30 into the second overtime gave the No. 9 Lakehead Thunderwolves a thrilling come from behind 3-2 win over the York Lions in their OUA West semi-final playoff game before 2163 fans Wednesday night at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay. York had a 2-0 lead in the second but a goal from Lakehead's Sean Stefanski woke up the Thunderwolves and they assaulted York netminder Scott Della Vedova from that point on. Della Vedova was outstanding for the Lions as he turned aside 61 Lakehead shots. Lakehead's other goal came from Brad Priestlay while Matt Passfield and Phil Knapp scored for York.
Lakehead's Richards had the first good chance when he tried a wraparound 20 seconds in but fired it across the crease. York had a good chance 30 seconds later when Eric Gooldy was set up nicely in front of the Lakehead net but Lakehead netminder Chris Whitley made a nice pad save. The Wolves then put on some pressure and Dene Poulin fired a last from 15 feet out that hit York netminder Scott Della Vedova in the chest. Lakehead's Austin Wycisk then tried to jump on a rebound but couldn't get it past Della Vedova. Action was fast and furious for the next three minutes with both teams skating hard. The Lions struck first at 8:02 when the Lakehead defense was caught by a quick lead pass from Matt Reynolds to Matt Passfield who broke in alone and fired it over Whitley's shoulder. Lakehead went on the powerplay but York's Phil Knapp jumped on a bad clearing pass by Whitley who was caught out behind the Lakehead net. Knapp fired it in front and the puck deflected off a Lakehead d-man's skate and into the empty net at 10:26.
The Wolves were totally dispirited and disjointed for the rest of the powerplay. Lakehead then picked it up a little and Andrew Brown fired just wide at 14:15 after a nice setup by Tobias Whelan. York then put on the pressure as Whitley lost his stick after another errant pass and the Lions buzzed the Lakehead goal. Lakehead's then put on the pressure and Austin Wycisk came close when he batted the puck repeatedly and thought he had a goal but the referee ruled that Della Vedova kept it out of the net with 1:46 left. York drew a minor with .6 seconds left and would start the second shorthanded. York outshot Lakehead 14-11 in the first.
Lakehead started on the powerplay but didn't get any good chances until right near the end of the opportunity when three Wolves broke in on a single York d-man and Erik Lodge missed a wide open net after being set up all alone by Murray Magill. Mike Wehrstedt then had a wide-open breakaway and he faked the shot and then fired but Della Vedova deflected it up and out of play. York's Jason Pinizotto then missed a good opportunity when he fired a rebound that Whitley deflected out of play. Play went back and forth through the middle stretch of the second and Lakehead finally got on the board when Sean Stefanski converted a lovely three-way passing play from Peter Cava and Murray Magill at 12:45. The goal fired up the Wolves and they attacked the Lions' goal. Jeff Richards missed a glorious chance but he backhanded it over a sprawled Della Vedova and the York net. The Wolves kept up the pressure until the end of the period but couldn't beat Della Vedova again. Shots in the second were 18-8 Lakehead.
The Wolves came out in the third firing the puck in the early going but Della Vedova was again up to the task. York could not get the puck out of their end for the first five minutes. Murray Magill broke in alone at 6:10 and was hauled down putting the Wolves on the powerplay. Lakehead buzzed the net but couldn't get a good shot. York went on the powerplay with 10:48 left but it was Lakehead's Joel Scherban who missed a wide open net on a 2-on-1 after a great pass from Jeff Richards. Richards then just missed with a tip in that Della Vedova made a great save on. However, the Lions couldn't stem the attack forever an