The No. 4 Lakehead Thunderwolves open their OUA Far West Division semi-final series against the Windsor Lancers on Wednesday at the Adie Knox Arena in Windsor. Lakehead (18-6 conference, 23-10-2 overall) is coming off a sweep over Windsor last weekend in Thunder Bay. Windsor is 8-15-1 in conference play and 9-20-1 overall.
The two teams will face each other again on Friday in Thunder Bay in Game Two of the series with the winner to face Division leaders and defending CIS national champion Western Mustangs in the divisional finals. The third game, if neccessary, would be Saturday night in Thunder Bay.
Thunderwolves Head Coach Pete Belliveau said Windsor would be a tough challenge for his team. "We are playing a very fast team who counter quickly and have two good goaltenders. They are well coached and have all the ingredients to beat any team any time. We must be ready and not take them lightly!! This is going to be a great series."
Windsor Head Coach Vern Stenlund said his team is ready for battle. "The playoffs allows both individuals and teams to make up for a multitude of sins that might have occurred during the regular season. We have nothing to lose and everthing to gain, and will approach the series with Lakehead in that manner. One thing I'll promise...we won't show up at the Fort William Gardens and roll over for them. They are a great team, but they will have to earn the right to advance"
Fans in Thunder Bay can listen to all the action live on 580 CKPR AM with TBT/CKPR Sports Director Bryan Wyatt calling the play-by-play beginning with the pre-game show at 7:20. Thunderwolves' fans across Canada can listen via the internet at www.ckpr.com
The two teams take to the ice in Windsor at 7:30.
Series History:
These will be the 11th, 12th, and possibly 13th meetings between the two teams. Lakehead won all previous 10 matches, outscoring Windsor 54-18. Lakehead eliminated Windsor from the OUA Far West Division Semi-Finals 2-0 in last year's playoffs.
Previous Meetings:
Sat Feb. 15, 2003 Lakehead 6 Windsor 3
Fri Feb. 14, 2003. Lakehead 5 Windsor 2
Sun Jan 12, 2003 Lakehead 7 @ Windsor 2
Sat Jan 11,2003 Lakehead 4 @ Windsor 3
February 23, 2002. Windsor 1 @ Wolves 3
February 20, 2002. Wolves 6 @ Windsor 1
February 09, 2002: Wolves 7 @ Windsor 4
February 08, 2002: Wolves 4 @ Windsor 1
January 04, 2002: Windsor 1 @ Wolves 7
January 03, 2002: Windsor 0 @ Wolves 5
Series Notes:
- Lakehead has 125 goals for and 64 against while Windsor has 75 goals for and 96 against.
- Lakehead's leading scorers are Jeff Richards (23 goals and 15 assists for 32 points), Bryan Duce (14 goals and 24 assists for 38 points), Joel Scherban (11 goals and 24 assist for 35 points), Chris Shaffer (19 goals and 12 assists for 31 points), and Jason Lange (10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points).
- Windsor's leading scorers are Dan Murrell (11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points), Jason Melo (13 goals and 7 assists for 20 points), Mike York (7 goals and 13 assists for 20 points) and B.J. Gaylord (9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points).
- Lakehead goaltender Grant McCune has a 14-4 record, GAA of 3.01, and a Save Percentage of 86.40%. Cory McEachran has a 6-0 record, GAA of 2.05, and a Save Percentage of 90.15%.
- Windsor goaltender Kevin Rivest has a 5-10 record, GAA of 4.39, and a Save Percentage of 88.31%. Derek Laporte has a 2-5-1 record, GAA of 4.93, and a Save Percentage of 86.93%.
Thunderwolves Notes:
- Jeff Richards led all OUA rookies in goals with 23 and points at 38. His 23 goals were third best in the OUA. He was tied for fourth in OUA scoring with Bryan Duce.
- Scherban was tied for sixth in OUA scoring a