The Lakehead Thunderwolves will look to regroup after a tough two losses at the University of Waterloo last weekend as they host Waterloo's other OUA squad, the No. 10 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks this Friday and Saturday at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay. Faceoff for both games goes at 7:30pm.
Head coach Joel Scherban's Thunderwolves (7-2-1 overall; 5-2-1 OUA) will look to get their offence back on track after managing just three goals against the Warriors. Meanwhile, the Kelly Nobes-coached Hawks (8-4-0 overall; 5-1-1 OUA) are coming off a Halloween loss to the Western Mustangs. With 11 points apiece, Lakehead and Laurier enter the weekend tied for second in the OUA West Division, two points behind Waterloo.
Head to Head
Lakehead and Laurier have built a strong rivalry during recent years as the teams have met during each of the last four OUA playoffs. The Wolves hold a 20-16-0 all-time record against the Hawks but went 2-5 overall against them last season fell victim to them in the OUA semi-finals.
The Thunderwolves hold the all-time goal scoring advantage over the Golden Hawks, outscoring them 129-106.
Lakehead Thunderwolves (7-2-1 overall; 5-2-1 OUA)
Despite being slowed down last weekend at Waterloo, the Thunderwolves have been an OUA offensive powerhouse during the 2009-10 season. Their 38 regular season goals leads the conference and they have tallied 4.8 per contest while allowing just 23 goals, or 2.9 per game.
Leading the charge of late has been freshman forward Victor Anilane. The big Swede was named CIS Male Athlete of the Week after his four-goal explosion in the Wolves' series against Brock. He is tied with Dan Speer for second on the team with 11 points, including five goals and six assists, and has been a special teams force and strong two-way addition to the team.
Brock McPherson leads the Wolves in scoring with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points and will be counted on to kickstart the LU attack against Laurier.
Fifth-year senior Speer has four goals and seven assists and has been a consistent contributor all season while Scott Dobben is tied with McPherson for the team lead with six goal, adding four assists.
Forward Andy Hyvarinen has been a strong playmaker for the Wolves with eight assists to go with one goal, while Mark Soares (three goals, five assists), Adam Sergerie (five goals, three assists), and Kris Hogg (five goals, three assists) all have eight points.
On the blueline, Ryan Baird has set a strong offensive pace and has two goals and five assists on the year. In his return from off season surgery, Pierre-Marc Guilbault has been stellar defensively while scoring four goals with one assist.
Andy Zulyniak (five assists) and Kalvin Sagert (one goal, four assists) have been great two-way players for the Wolves, while captain Jordan Smith has one goal, three assists and countless hits on the year.
In net, junior Kyle Moir is the established number one goaltender and has a 6-2-0 record with one shutout, a 2.51 GAA and a 0.897 SV%. He will look to shut down a potent Hawks attack after suffering his first two defeats of the year against Waterloo. Alex Dupuis will be the backup and has a 1-0-1 record with a 2.88 GAA.
Lakehead results
Oct. 31 at Waterloo L 1-3
Oct. 30 at Waterloo L 2-3
Oct. 24 vs. Brock W 4-3
Oct. 23 vs. Brock W 4-0
Oct. 17 at UOIT L 5-6 OTS
Oct. 16 at UOIT W 9-5
Oct. 10 vs. York W 9-2
Oct. 9 vs. York W 4-1
Oct. 3 vs. Guelph W 4-1
Oct. 2 vs. Guelph W 7-3
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (8-4-0 overall; 5-1-1 OUA)
Tied for second with Lakehead in the OUA West Division, head coach Kelly Nobes' team enters their series at the Fort William Gardens with a game at hand over the Thunderwolves. Scoring has not been a problem for the Hawks in recent years, and the team's offence has been solid this season. Laurier has tallied 28 goals in OUA play (4.0 per game), while allowing 23 (3.3 per game).
Junior center Jean-Michel Rizk leads the Hawks attack with five goals and four assists as he defends his 2008-09 OUA scoring title. Rizk tallied an impressive 25 goals, 29 assists and 54 assists last season, averaging two points per game.
Fifth-year senior Paul Bradley (three goals, four assists) and junior winger Craig Voakes (two goals, five assists) have provided the Hawks with scoring depth at forward, while freshman Jason Bergeron (three goals, three assists) is off to a hot start.
Blueliner Phil Magistrale leads the defensive unit with one goal and six assists with Jordan Bonneville (one goal, three assists) also providing some offense from the back.
In net, fifth-year senior Jeff MacDougald had split the duties with freshman Ryan Daniels. MacDougald is 3-1 with a 2.95 GAA and a 0.906 SV% while Daniels has a 2-1 record with a 3.53 GAA and a 0.914 SV%.
Laurier results
Oct. 31 vs. Western L 3-4
Oct. 24 at York W 5-4 OT
Oct. 22 vs. Guelph W 4-3 OTS
Oct. 17 vs. Windsor W 4-2
Oct. 15 at Waterloo L 4-5 OT
Oct. 10 vs UOIT W 4-3
Oct. 9 at Guelph W 4-2
Oct. 4 at Ferris State W 3-1
Oct. 3 at Bowling Green L 3-7
Sept. 26 vs RMC L 3-4 OT
Sept. 25 vs Queen's W 4-3
Sept. 19 vs Guelph W 8-5