Four crucial divisional points are up for grabs as the Lakehead Thunderwolves travel to Windsor this weekend for two games against OUA Far West opponents Windsor Lancers Friday and Saturday nights. Lakehead goes into the series in second place in the Far West with a 10-2-0 OUA record (18-10-1-1 overall) while Windsor is in fourth place with a 5-6-1 OUA mark (5-13-2 overall). Lakehead and Windsor fans can catch all the action live with Bryan Wyatt and Chris Prystanskion 580 CKPR Radio in Thunder Bay and online at www.ckpr.com.
Lakehead has a 16-1-1 record against Windsor in four seasons of OUA play; but the Lancers have been playing the Thunderwolves very tough over the last two seasons. Lakehead defeated Windsor twice in Thunder Bay in October in two close games. Add to the mix the fact that five of Lakeheads top players are with Team Canada at the FISU Winter Universiade in Innsbruck, Austria, and you have the makings of a very tough series. The Thunderwolves had a rough holiday break; going 2-6 in non-conference action and in four of those losses they were missing players to the FISU team. On a positive note; Lakehead did make it to the finals of the Bell Varsity Cup tournament; posting wins over two tough teams in UNB and Manitoba in round robin play.
In conference play, the Thunderwolves posted excellent team numbers in the first half of the season; most goals per game in the CIS, least goals allowed in the CIS. Windsor was 18th in goals for and 17th in goals allowed. But, the challenge for this series and the next one vs. a powerful Waterloo squad will be how well that remaining veterans such as Chris Shaffer, Grant McCune, and Jason Lange as well as newcomers like Sean Stefanski, Francis Walker, Andrew Brown, and Tobias Whelan respond to the challenge they are faced with in these two series.
The Thunderwolves are still a very talented hockey club and also can count on strong goaltending from rookie sensation Chris Whitley who posted a 6-0 mark in the first half of OUA play with a GAA of .83, a save percentage of .971, and two shutouts. Another bright spot is the return of defenseman Hugo Lehoux to Lakeheads depleted defensive corps. Lehoux missed the whole first half of the season and saw limited action in last weekends non-conference series vs. UQTR. Stefanski posted good numbers in the first half of the season (2 goals and 6 assists) and his offensive touch will be needed. Brown and Mike Wehrstedt also showed some positive flashes during the holiday break and they too could be key over the next four games.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau knows this weekend will be a battle. We will be playing a tough opponent as they are waiting for us to begin the second half and we certainly remember how well they played us at the Gardens in October. Coach Stenlund will have his team ready to give us a good hard fought battle, and we will not be taking them lightly as we remember how they defeated us last season after Christmas. This will be a real playoff type game will huge Far West points at stake.
The Lancers are again a fiercely disciplined team led by Head Coach Vern Stenlund. Windsor plays a very balanced team game and gets scoring from throughout its roster. They also have some dangerous scorers such as Alex White (8 goals and 3 assists), Kyle Trudell (5 goals and 3 assists), Kyle Voy (3 goals and 5 assists), and Jordie Preston (2 goals and 6 assists).
Stenlund said his team is keen to face the Thunderwolves "I know that Coach Belliveau is missing some key people in his line-up for this series due to the FISU Gam