The Wolves enter the Varsity Cup with a 10-4-2 OUA record (12-7-2 overall); good for second place (same points as Western but one more win) in the OUA Far West behind Waterloo and the fourth best mark in the 16-team OUA. The Wolves are tied for third in the CIS in goals for with 4.6 per game and tied for 8th in goals allowed at 3.1 per game.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said his team is ready to play against some top CIS teams. We are very happy in the quality of teams who will be attending this year's tournament and I think our great Lakehead fans will be the clear winners as we have four top-notch CIS teams battling for the T Bay Tel Varsity Cup. This is a fantastic start the second half of the season for all the teams; great intense hockey for four straight days!
Head to Head:
Lakehead has not played any of these opponents this season but will play Laurier twice in the second half of the OUA regular season. The Thunderwolves are 11-4 lifetime vs. Laurier, 5-1-2 against Toronto, and 2-4 against Calgary.
Lakehead played some very solid team hockey in the first half and have been led by junior centre Tobias Whelan whose 12 goals and 19 assists are third in the CIS and the OUA. Whelan is very smooth on his skates and when he has the puck he thinks quickly and calmly while on the fly.
Fifth-year senior captain Jeff Richards missed quite a few games due to injury and suspension in the first half but now that he is back the Wolves are obviously a much more dangerous team with their speedy CIS All Canadian and OUA All star. Richards has 7 goals and 7 assists in only nine OUA games.
Freshman sensation Mark Soares continues to impress with his relentless hustle and thrilling rushes and his 12 goals and 11 assists puts him tied for 5th in OUA scoring and tied for 8th in the CIS.
Senior forward Mike Wehrstedt (7 goals, 6 assists) continues to play steady two-way hockey as is fifth year senior Mark Robinson (4 goals, 7 assists). Junior Richard Molenaar (3 goals, 10 assists) has impressed with his strong skating, penalty kill play, and playmaking. Sophomore centre Dan Speer (4 goals, 8 assists) continues to show flashes of his offensive talent and is also hustling on the ice for the Wolves.
Junior Andrew Brown (3 goals, 4 assists) continues to play solid two-way hockey and has been playing a lot of defense due to injuries to Lakeheads blueliners. Sophomore Shandor Alphonso (2 goals, 5 assists) continues to play hard-nosed hockey for the Wolves while junior Matt Maissoneuve (3 goals, 3 assists) has been excellent on the Lakehead PK unit.
Although they have seen limited ice time; freshmen Ryan Maunu (1 goal, 1 assist) and Nathan Breukelman (3 goals, 4 assists) have both looked very good when they are on the ice and they may be factors in the tourney.
Lakeheads blue line corps has been playing good defensive hockey as well as contributing offensively. Senior Matt Jacques leads the d-men in scoring with 6 goals and 10 assists while fellow senior Steve Rawski continues his breakout season offensively with 1 goal and 11 assists.
Freshman Jarry Brend (2 goals, 7 assists) continues his strong play as has junior Drew Kivell (8 assists). Sophomore Dan Rogers (1 goal, 2 assists) is developing into a very solid defender.
Junior netminder Chris Whitley (8-2-2, GAA 3.18, SV% .900) continues to play strong hockey and last years CIS National Championship All Tourney goaltender is backed up ably by Matt Iorriani (1-2, GAA 3.89, SV% .890) and Matti Korhonen (1-0, GAA 3.00, SV% .880).
Great news for the Wolves is that senior defenseman Mike Self and injured junior forward Brad Priestlay (2 goals, 2 assists in 8 games) will return to the line-up after lengthy absences due to injuries. More great news is that newcomerdefensemen Jordan Smith and Andy Zulyniak will see their first game action as will winger Brock McPherson