The No. 3 Lakehead Thunderwolves welcome the Ryerson Rams to the noisy confines of the Fort William Gardens for two games this weekend. These two games will conclude Lakehead's first half of the OUA regular season. Lakehead goes into the series with an 8-2-0-0 OUA record (14-4-1-1 overall) while Ryerson has an 0-10-0-0 OUA record and are 0-14-0-0 overall. The two teams have only played each other twice before; with Lakehead winning by 7-2 and 3-1 scores.
Lakehead enters the series in first place in the OUA Far West Division; one point ahead of Western, but the Mustangs have two games in hand. Lakehead is fourth in the CIS in offense; scoring at 4.5 goals per game and second in defense allowing 1.6 goals per game. Ryerson sits last and second last in the CIS in those categories.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said Lakehead will have to be careful with the Rams. "We won't take them for granted and we know they will play us tough like all teams so far this season; they only lost 4-2 against Western. We have to play hard and try to get valuable points for the OUA Far West Divisional race."
The Thunderwolves have improved noticeably so far this season on team defense; a remarkable achievement due to injuries to the defense. The great play of Erik Lodge, Mike Self, Drew Kivell, Jesse Baraniuk, Steve Rawski, and Dene Poulin can't be underestimated. As well, Lakehead has received excellent goaltending from fourth year star Grant McCune and rookie standout Chris Whitley. The two have combined for 10 wins, a combined GAA of 1.60 and a combined save percentage of .948.
On the offensive side, the big strength of Lakehead this season is that they are receiving scoring from all down the roster. Traditional big guns like Joel Scherban, Jeff Richards, and Chris Shaffer are getting their points but Lakehead's second line of Murray Magill, Peter Cava, and Sean Stefanski are equally dangerous. The third and fourth lines are also scoring which is a great sign for the Thunderwolves. Look for good things from Tobias Whelan, Andrew Brown, Brad Priestlay, Jason Lange, Mike Wehrstedt, Jounni Kuokkanen, Austin Wycisk, Mark Robinson, Leon Cooper, and Francis Walker as the season continues. Also, defenseman Lodge has returned to his OUA All-Star form of 2001-02; perhaps because the offensive d-man role is resting squarely on his shoulders with the absence of Mike Jacobsen and Chris Callaway. Scherban, Magill, and Lodge are all among a group tied for 7th in OUA scoring with 12 points apiece while Richards is in a 8th place tie.
Ryerson is obviously having a tough season, sitting in last in the OUA Mid East Division. Head Coach Ed Kirsten said injuries have played a part in hurting the Rams so far this season. "Our team has been hit by rash of injuries and having trouble scoring goals." Chris Sutton has been the Rams' most consistent performer, notching 1 goal and 5 assists while John Poffley has four goals.
Ryerson Results:
Sun Nov 21 Waterloo 5 Ryerson 0
Fri Nov 19 Western 4 Ryerson 1
Sat Nov 13 Concordia 8 Ryerson 2
Fri Nov 12 UQTR 10 Ryerson 0
Sun Nov 7 Ottawa 4 Ryerson 1
Sat Nov 6 McGill 5 Ryerson 4
Sat Oct 30 York 5 Ryerson 0
Fri Oct 29 Brock 8 Ryerson 0
Sun Oct 24 Laurier 6 Ryerson 2
Thu Oct 21 Guelph 4 Ryerson 1
Sat Oct 9 Army 5 Ryerson 1 EX
Fri Oct 8 Army 3 Ryerson 2 EX OT
Fri Oct 1 Mount Royal 7 Ryerson 3 EX
Sat Oct 2 Guelph 4 Ryerson 1 NC
Game times Friday and Saturday night are 7:30 pm EST at the Fort William Gardens.