The Lakehead Thunderwolves close out the first half of the season with a pair of home games versus the powerful Calgary Dinos of the Canada West Conference this Friday and Saturday at the Fort William Gardens. Game times will be 7:30 p.m. both nights.
Last Time Out
The Thunderwolves kept their hot streak going last weekend with a two-game home sweep of the Laurier Golden Hawks. Lakehead won by a 6-0 shutout on Friday night, followed by a 4-3 overtime shootout victory on Saturday. The Wolves dominated play in both games, but stellar goaltending by Lauriers Ryan Daniels kept the Hawks in the game on Saturday.
Rolling Thunder
The Lakehead Thunderwolves remain the hottest team in the OUA right now, having won 13 of the last 14 games. With the Wolves on that kind of a roll, Lakehead is sitting in first place in the OUA West Division, and is currently ranked #8 in the CIS Top Ten Poll.
Series History
Calgary holds a slight edge over Lakehead, with an all-time record of 4-3-0 versus the Thunderwolves, with all 7 of those games played at the Fort William Gardens. The most recent meeting between the two teams was in December of 2006, with the Wolves winning that game 7-6 in overtime.
About the Dinos
The Calgary Dinos have been ranked in the CIS Top Ten Poll for most of the season, but had a tough time last weekend at Manitoba were they were swept by the Bisons 8-1 and 4-2. Prior to that, Calgary had won 8 of its last 10 games in Canada West conference play.
Calgary forwards to watch for are junior Taylor Stefishen, senior Brock Nixon, and freshman Dylan Hood. The Dinos blue-liners are led by freshman Teigan Zahn, and the bulk of the goaltending duties belong to senior Dustin Butler, who has posted an impressive 2.64 GAA in 12 conference games.
Teddy Bear Toss
Friday night is the TD Canada Trust Teddy Bear Toss, where fans can bring a new teddy bear to the game and throw it onto the ice when the Wolves score their first goal of the game. All teddy bears collected will be donated to several local childrens charities.