The Lakehead Thunderwolves host the Waterloo Warriors this Friday and Saturday in a key clash of OUA Far West Division rivals. Lakehead is in second in the division with 20 points based on a 10-4-0 OUA record (18-12-1-1 overall) while Waterloo is close behind in third with an 8-6-1 OUA mark (13-8-1 overall), good for 17 points. Western sits in first with 23 points while Windsor is in fourth with 15 points and these two teams are also battling it out this weekend in a home-and-home series; so needless to say, this will be a crucial weekend in the OUA Far West.
Lakehead is 14-1-1 against Waterloo in three and a half seasons of OUA regular season and post season play, but most of those games were very tough and hard-fought affairs. The Thunderwolves are coming off two losses against divisional rivals Windsor last weekend while Waterloo is coming off a sweep of a Universiade-depleted Western team two weeks ago. This is not to take anything away from the Warriors; Head Coach Karl Taylor's squad is big and formidable and are ranked in the CIS Top 10 and the Warriors beat the full Lakehead team during the first half of the season.
The Thunderwolves are still missing their five top scorers playing for Team Canada at the FISU Winter Universiad in Innsbruck, Austria; but the puck stops at the Fort William Gardens this weekend and the remaining talented players have to dig deep and find the spark to fight for these crucial four OUA Far West points. Lakehead is currently on a five game non-conference and regular season losing streak; the longest such streak in the team's four years of existence.
Lakehead has to come out of its offensive doldrums and players like Acting Captain Chris Shaffer, Jason Lange, Mike Wehrstedt, Francis Walker, Sean Stefanski, Andrew Brown, and Tobias Whelan will have to start putting the puck in the net for the Wolves in this series. It is also crucial that goaltenders Grant McCune and Chris Whitley find their form and play strong between the pipes against the Warriors. The inspirational return of Hugo Lehoux last weekend didn't help in the win column but on a positive note the gritty d-man did pot two goals against the Lancers. Defensmen Mike Self and Drew Kivell need to direct the offense and big Steve Rawski has to control the front of the Lakehead goal so his netminders can see the puck.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau knows his team is in for a big battle. "We're playing the hottest team in the OUA at the moment. They defeated our full line-up in early October and they have since improved. Coach Taylor and his staff have done a magnificent job and we are now all battling for playoff positions and this OUA Far West weekend series is very pivotal in our race for the playoffs."
Lakehead has to get by the Warriors' Wall of Defense; led by fifth year Captain Chris Hopiavuori along with big 6'5" Mike Clarke, 6'6" Dustin Bauer, and 6'5" Alex Macdonell. Kevin Hurley is 12th in OUA scoring with 5 goals and 13 assists while Doug Spooner leads the team with 10 goals as also has 4 assists. Adam Metherel (2 goals and 9 assists) and d-man Macdonell (4 goals and 3 assists) can also supply offense. Rookie netminder Curtis Darling has been a standout in the Waterloo goal; he sports an 8-3-1 record with a GAA of 1.99 and a save percentage of 92.24 in OUA play.
Head Coach Karl Taylor Quote: "We are excited to play the Thunderwolves in the best university hockey atmosphere presented anywhere in Canada. Pete always has his t