The Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team embarks on what may be its most challenging road trip in the teams four plus seasons of university hockey. The Wolves are jetting off for a Colorado Thanksgiving that will see them match up against NCAA Division I powerhouses Denver Pioneers and the Colorado College Tigers, as well as a tilt against the always tough and fit Air Force Academy Falcons.
Denver, two-time defending NCAA Div. I champions, and Colorado College, who made it to the Frozen Four last year, play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference while Air Force plays in the College Hockey America conference (CHA). Lakehead plays Denver Saturday Oct. 8th, Colorado College on Sunday Oct. 9th, and Air Force on Thanksgiving Monday Oct. 10th.
Fans at the World Arena in Colorado Springs will be in for a special treat as the Lakehead vs. Colorado College game on Sunday will feature a Hobey Baker winner (Colorados Marty Sertich) going head-to-head against a Joseph E. Sullivan winner (Lakeheads Scherban) as both are centres on their respective teams first lines. That game will be broadcast on the internet by Colorado College at8:00 pm Eastern Time and you can hear the gameby clicking HERE.
The Thunderwolves head to the Rockies sporting a 4-0 record in non-conference play after recording home sweeps against Manitoba and Saint Marys. The team looked good against two excellent CIS opponents and the Wolves looked very quick this early in the season. Players like forward Peter Cava and goaltender Grant McCune have shone early and the whole team played some solid hockey against the Bisons and the Huskies. Cava notched five goals and four assists in four games while McCune recorded a 3-0 record and a Save Percentage of .931.
However, Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau knows this Colorado expedition will be a big test for his team. This will be, without a doubt, the toughest challenge in our programs short history, but we are all looking forward to playing in front of 8000 plus fans. We will be playing Denver, the NCAA champs for the last two seasons: and the Pioneers have many NHL draft picks and one of the best college coaches in George Gwozdeky. The Colorado College Tigers finished last season ranked second and they are very fast and powerful. The Air Force Academy Falcons are very fit and quick. These games will force us to play much quicker on both sides of the puck and provide us with valuable experience for the whole season.
Lakehead will look for strong play from Captain and Joseph E. Sullivan Trophy winter Joel Scherban (1 goal, five assists), his fellow All-Canadian Jeff Richards (2 goals, 1 assist), and new linemate Andrew Brown (3 goals, 2 assists). The Wolves will also need continued inspired play from the second line of Cava and Murray Magill (2 goals, 2 assists) and Jason Lange (1 goal, 3 assists). Sophomore Tobias Whelan has been sharp so far (2 goals, 2 assists) and players like Mike Wehrstedt and Brad Priestlay have been skating hard. All of Lakeheads freshmen looked good and playing against top NCAA opponents will surely help in their learning curve.
The Wolves defense played quite well in their first two series; but were caught on fast breaks a few times by Saint Marys and this is something they will have to watch against the speedy American teams. D-man Erik Lodge (5 assists) played very well against the Huskies in their second game; both offensively and defensively. The Wolves need Mike Jacobsen and Drew Kivell to play strong and also look for continued fine play from big Steve Rawski. Finally, Lakeheads goaltending duo of Grant McCune and Chris Whitley will need to be at the top of their game.
The Thunderwolves have never played against any of these teams before and are 0-6 against NCAA Division I opponents over their first four seas