The CIS No. 5 Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team returns to the battle of the trenches this weekend when they travel to Windsor, Ontario to take on the Windsor Lancers Friday night and Saturday afternoon. This series will be the first of four consecutive weekend series against OUA Far West divisional rivals that will end the Wolves regular season play.
Lakehead enters the weekend with a 15-3-1-1 OUA record (21-6-1-1 overall) while Windsor is 11-8-0-1 in OUA play and 12-13-0-1 overall. Lakehead is in second in the OUA Far West with 32 points; three points behind No. 6 Laurier and three points ahead of No. 9 Western. The Lancers are in fifth place in the OUA Far West with 23 points.
The OUA Far West Division is the toughest in the OUA (with respect to the OUA Far East); with three teams ranked in the CIS Top 10. As an example; although Windsor is in fifth in the five-team OUA Far West; they would be in first place in either the OUA Mid West or Mid East Divisions by points.
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As another example of the strength of the OUA Far West; last weekend saw eight interlocking games between OUA Far West and OUA Mid East teams. The result was eight wins for OUA Far West teams by a combined score of 45-7 with three shutouts. The last four weekends of the OUA regular season should be a wild ride as all five teams in the division play each other to end regular season play and this weekends series between the Wolves and the Lancers should prove no exception.
Lakehead Head Coach Don McKee said the run to the playoffs begins in earnest with this series. Coach Kevin Hamlin and his staff at the University of Windsor have very quickly turned their Lancers into a very strong team that should qualify for the West Conference playoffs. With the outstanding goaltending of Jim Watt, they have the potential to beat any team in the OUA. Their 3-1 victory in the first game of the regular season over the Thunderwolves was indeed a warning that they cannot be taken lightly. The tight standings in the OUA West Conference make every game important for playoff standings and home ice advantage. The Lancers have demonstrated a balance of offense/defense and this weekend should be two very exciting games for the fans of Essex County.
Friday nights game goes at 7:30 pm EST and will be broadcast live on Rock94 FM in Thunder Bay and online at www.rock94.com. Bryan Wyatt will be calling all the action live.
Friday's game will also be broadcast live in Windsor on CJAM Radio 91.5 FM and online at http://web2.uwindsor.ca/cjam/index.html Saturday's game will be broadcast in the Windsor area on TV Cogeco Cable 11.
Head to Head:
Lakehead has a record of 27 wins, 6 losses, and 1 tie all time vs. Windsor; 23-6-1 in the regular season and 4-0 in the playoffs. Lakehead outscored Windsor 166-75 in those 34 games.
The two teams kicked off their respective regular seasons against each other in Thunder Bay in October with Windsor winning the opener 3-1 and Lakehead taking the second game 6-1.
Lakehead is fourth in CIS goals for with 4.2 per game while Windsor is tied for 12th with 3.1 per game. Lakehead is third in CIS goals allowed with 2 per game while Windsor is tied for 7th with 2.8 per game.