The Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team hosts their archrivals, the Western Mustangs, this Friday and Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ontario. These will be the final two games of the regular season for both squads, but the Thunderwolves have a little more at stake.
The Mustangs (16-6-2-2 OUA play; 18-8-2-2 overall) have clinched the No. 3 spot in the OUA West already and their position will remain unchanged and they will most likely play Brock in the first round of the OUA playoffs. However the Thunderwolves (13-9-2-2 OUA record; 16-16-2-2 overall) need points to gain home ice advantage for their probable first round series against the York Lions. Add to this that this is perhaps the best rivalry in the OUA in recent years and the fact that they could meet again later in the playoffs, and you have the recipe for a very exciting series.
Both games start at 7:30 pm EST and will be videowebcast live off the Lakehead hockey site (www.thunderwolveshockey.com) with ordering info available by clicking on the Broadcast/Webcast section. Argus Campus Newspaper Editor Alan Wickware will be calling all the action and Lakehead Sports Info Director Mike Aylward will be doing the pre-game and colour commentary.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said his squad will battle this weekend. We will be playing our last OUA regular season series vs. our arch-rivals and we are also trying to nail down the fourth seed for upcoming playoffs. We have worked very hard in our last three games, and although we did not get the 6 points, we will continue working hard. This is the only way to get positive results. Coach Singer and his Stangs have played a very good second half, they are very aggressive on the puck, go hard to the net, and defend well. It will be a hard fought series.
Head to Head:
Lakehead is 12-24 all time against Western; 4-18 in regular season play but 8-6 in the playoffs. Western has outscored Lakehead 147-97 in their previous 36 meetings. Western defeated Lakehead 6-2 and 6-3 in their two earlier meetings this season in London.
Western has 111 goals for and 65 against compared to Lakeheads 110 goals for and 99 against. Lakeheads 4.2 goals per game is tied for fourth in the CIS while Westerns 4.3 goals per game is tied for third. Westerns 2.5 goals allowed per game is tied for second in the CIS while Lakeheads 3.8 is tied for 11th in the nation.
Lakehead Thunderwolves:
This is a big weekend for the Wolves as they are hungry for points to ensure home ice advantage in their first round playoff series against York. Lakehead captain Jeff Richards (17 goals, 14 assists in only 16 games; tied 11th OUA) has been on fire offensively; scoring 9 goals in his past 6 games. However, the captain suffered an injury in last Saturdays game vs. York and is listed as day-to-day for this weekends series.
If Richards cant play; the offensive responsibilities will fall on the rest of the Wolves and they have the talent to put the puck in the net. Tobias Whelan (16 goals, 23 assists; tied for 5th CIS & OUA) still leads the Wolves in scoring and his play will be key as will the play of freshman Mark Soares (15 goals, 16 assists; tied 11th OUA).
The Wolves will need scoring from players like Mike Wehrstedt (9 goals, 7 assists), Dan Speer (8 goals, 15 assists), Mark Robinson (4 goals, 7 assists), Andrew Brown (4 goals, 10 assists), Brad Priestlay (4 goals, 3 assists), Shandor Alphonso (2 goals, 5 assists), as well as strong play from players like Richard Molenaar (6 goals, 11 assists), Matt Maissoneuve (4 goals, 5 assists) and freshman Brock McPherson (2 goals, 3 assists in 8 games).
Defensively, the Wolves will have to cut down on goals against and work on team defense and supporting their goaltenders. Offensively, the Lakehead blue liners have put up good numbers this season; Matt Jacques (7<