Wolves stunned by Ryerson, will have to hope for wild card

Posted March 3, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

The road to the CIS nationals just got a whole heck of a lot tougher for the Lakehead Thunderwolves.

The Wolves on Friday were shocked 86-70 by the upstart Ryerson Rams in the OUA semifinal in Waterloo, and will have to rely on the lone at-large berth to make the trip next weekend to Halifax.

A selection committee will use nine separate criteria to make their choice, and the defending OUA champion Lakehead Thunderwolves look like a favourable choice under that scenario.

The first deciding factor is regular season record. LU finished 20-2 in OUA play, losing to No. 1 Carleton and to Laurier, no longer in contention.

Games against other teams under consideration are next. The Wolves swept McMaster, playing in the other OUA semifinal against Carleton, and did not play teams in either Canada West or Atlantic University Sport.

Third on the list is game results against non-conference CIS opponents. Lakehead went 3-0 at Christmas in Quebec, the only non-conference action they saw.

Their best five weeks in the top 10 rankings are also factored in. Lakehead entered weekend play at No. 2, a position they held for the past seven weeks.

Playoff performance is the ninth criteria. The Wolves went 1-1, beating Guelph last weekend before Friday's lopsided loss to Ryerson.

The Rams will take on Carleton or McMaster Saturday night for the OUA championship.

OUA West MVP Venzal Russell had 23 points and a dozen rebounds to lead Lakehead. Aaron Best had 26 to pace the Rams.

"Before this weekend we said the successful team would be the one who executed and played the most as a team over 40 minutes. Ryerson did just that as they beat us down the floor and moved the ball much better than we did," LU coach Scott Morrison said in a release.

"Credit to Ryerson players for knocking down big shots and to their coaches for preparing well this week. They deserved the win and we have to take our beating like men. We picked a bad time to play poorly and now we have to live with it and find ways to learn from this experience."

The Wolves trailed 13-0 to start the OUA semifinal, missing their first 10 shots. The recovered towithin 11 at the half, down 45-34, but the Rams went on a 14-2 run to start the third quarter and LU never recovered.
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Wolves hang on

Posted February 12, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

Thomas Frazee hasn't been setting the world on fire with his goal-scoring ability since joining the Wolves at Christmastime.

But he showed on Saturday night he knows what to do with the puck in the clutch. The North Vancouver native one-timed a snap shot past Kurt Jory 7:34 into the third period, just his third goal of the season, but certainly his most important.

It proved to be the winner as Lakehead hung on, after blowing an earlier three-goal lead, to complete the weekend sweep of the Brock Badgers with a 5-4 triumph.

More importantly it sends the Thunderwolves into the playoffs on a modest two-game winning streak, ready to take on the Guelph Gryphons on the road on Wednesday night.

However, Frazee said, nearly giving the game away wasn't exactly how they wanted to win.

"Obviously it wasn't something we wanted to do," he said, lingering on the ice post-game to turn over his game-worn third jersey to a lucky fan who won it in a silent auction.

"I thought for a little bit in the second period we sat back a little bit and didn't play as well as we should have. But at the end of the day we got two points and that's all that matters."

Still, he'll take the sweep, which gave the Wolves a season-ending 19-9-0 record, good for second place in the OUA West.
"We knew it was huge to get two big wins and make sure we had lots of momentum going into the playoffs."

Mitch Maunu, playing in his final regular season game at Fort William Gardens in a Thunderwolves uniform – and scoring his fourth of the year on breakaway pass from Ryan Magill that put LU ahead 2-1 midway through the first – said it wasn't a pretty win.

"But you know what, a win's a win no matter what from here on out, no matter how you do it. It doesn't need to be pretty and we showed that tonight. We had a little bit of a letdown, but yeah, we battled back and that's what playoff games are going to be like.

"It's just going to be a grind, right to the end."

For the second straight night the Badgers, who finished 13-14-1 and will play Waterloo in the opening round of the playoffs, scored first when Thomas Stajan deflected a Kaine Geldart pass behind a surprised Alex Dupuis 4:19 into the contest.

Ryan McDonald tied it less than two minutes later, pouncing on a juicy rebound and knocking past Jory. Maunu, not normally a rushing defenceman, found himself ahead of the play on the Wolves second goal, a dandy three-way passing play that started with Victor Anilane making a great outlet pass to McGill at the Badgers blue-line.

"It was great," Maunu said. "I'm not known for my scoring. I was actually surprised it went in. I thought he stopped it. But it felt great to do that in my final game here in the regular season.

"I just saw a hole and I like to jump though the seams every once in awhile and I got the puck, a great play by Magill, and luckily it went in."

Three minutes into the second and Mike Quesnele ripped a shot through traffic that eluded Jory, then with the Wolves down a man, Andrew Wilkins broke free on Jory, made a nifty deke on the Badgers netminder and it was 4-1 with half the game in the books.

Slowly, but surely, Brock , who out-shot the Wolves 41-29, including 19-6 in the third, began to crawl back into the contest.

Daniel Tanel notched his first of the season to pull the Badgers to within a pair, the first of two power play goals Brock would score on the night.

Less than two minutes later, at the 18:30 mark of the second, Dylan MacEachern hit the post, scooped up the rebound and the lead was trimmed to one, with 20 minutes left to play.

Ryan Allen tied it on the power play at the three-minute mark of the third, but Frazee took matters into his own hands at that point.

"(Keith) Grondin and (Jake) Carrick did a great job getting it in on the forecheck and Carrick made a great pass out front and I was lucky enough to beat the goalie," Frazee said.

Mike Hammond, with a sharp-angled shot at the goal line, finished the evening's offence, beating Jory for the ninth of his freshman campaign.

Claw marks : Forward Devin Welsh was also honoured before the game as a fifth-year senior … Lakehead scratches include Luke Maw, Riley McIntosh, Jadran Beljo, Jason Grecica, Adam Sergerie and third-string goalie Josh Mrakic … The playoff matchups are set. Western, losers of its final two games, will play Laurier. Brock and Waterloo and York and Windsor are the other first-round series. In the OUA East, McGill plays Queen's, UQTR tangles with Ryerson, Nipissing draws Ottawa and Toronto and Carleton will hook up … Matt Caria finished 16th in the OUA scoring race, with 32 points in 21 games … Wilkins's shorthanded marker was his third of the season, second in the OUA behind McGill's Maxime Langelier-Parent … Hammond finished third among rookie scorers with 27 points, four fewer than Thunder Bay's Zach Harnden.

FIRST PERIOD
Scoring : 1. Brock, Stajan 12 (Geldart, Jones) 4:19. 2. Lakehead, McDonald 8 (Caria, Frazee) 6:03. 3. Lakehead, Maunu 4 (Magill, Anilane) 10:30. Penalties : Schram BRO (holding), McDonald LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 2:03, Bonawitz BRO (holding) 7:12, Schram BRO (cross checking, roughing), MacEachern BRO, Hammond LAK, Menard LAK (roughing) 14:02, Caria LAK (interference) 15:28, Smeltzer BRO (unsportsmanlike conduct) 20:00.

SECOND PERIOD
Scoring : 3. Lakehead, Quesnele 9 (Fillman, Dupuis) 3:04. 4. Lakehead, Wilkins 10  (unassisted) 10:25 sh. 5. Brock, Tanel 1 (Stajan) 16:38 pp. 7. Brock, MacEachern (K. Geldart, A. Geldart) 18:30. Penalties : Maunu LAK (cross checking) 3:00, Boudreau BRO (high sticking) 5:20, Bench minor LAK (too many men) 9:28, Allen BRO, Carrick LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 13:19, Boudreau BRO (slashing) 14:14. Wilkins LAK (cross checking, misconduct) 16:12

THIRD PERIOD
Scoring : 8. Brock, Allen 6 (Smeltzer, Brochu) 3:00 pp. 9. Lakehead, Frazee (Carrick, Grondin) 7:26. 10. Lakehead, Hammond () 18:03. Penalties : Menard LAK (hooking) 1:37, Smeltzer BRO (high sticking), Frazee LAK (elbowing) 14:11.

GAME DATA – SOG – Brock 7-15-19-41, Lakehead 11-12-6-29; Power plays (goals-chances) – Brock (2-5) Lakehead (0-5); Goaltenders – Brock: Kurt Jory, Lakehead: Alex Dupuis; A : 2,850.
 
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Hockey: Wolves have something to prove against Golden Hawks

Posted November 22, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

If it wasn’t for Ryan Daniels and the Laurier Golden Hawks, the Lakehead Thunderwolves would be on a 12-game winning streak.
Don’t think for a second the Wolves don’t want a little revenge.

“For sure,” said forward Trevor Gamache, who is second on the team to Adam Sergerie with eight goals this season.

“Winning 11 of our last 12 games, with Laurier being the only glitch in there, we’re going to go into this weekend to prove something. It doesn’t mean anything, the standings. They have a great team and we’re going have to give it all we’ve got.”

They’ll have to.

Though they might be just 4-8-0 as the OUA hockey schedule gets set for the Christmas break, the Golden Hawks have shown they can play with the West Division’s best, having beaten Waterloo, Brock, Lakehead and Western, a 5-4 thriller that handed the Mustangs their first regulation loss of the campaign.

Dainiels has been the key to the hot streak, said LU coach Joel Scherban, whose team this week jumped up a notch in the national rankings, coming in at eighth in the country. Daniels’s numbers (3.54, .919, 4-7-0) might not be as stellar as Lakehead’s Alex Dupuis’s – who will make a fifth straight start on Friday – but he’s been getting the job done when it counts.

“We know it’s going to be tough,” said Scherban. “Ryan Daniels is on a huge hot streak right now, so we need to find ways to generate offense on him. “We’re working hard on it this week in practice, working at getting traffic to the net. We’re working at finding rebounds right at the top of the crease and also in the high slot. We’re working at using the back of the net and cut-backs.”

Gamache said the team has noted their place atop the West Division standings, and are proud of what they’ve accomplished, but said neither players nor the coaching staff is letting it go to their head. They’re also not too concerned that Western, who trail the Wolves (11-3-0) by two points, also happen to have a couple of games in the standings.

There’s plenty of hockey left to be played, said Gamache, knowing all-too-well the Wolves have four post-Christmas dates with the rival Mustangs.

“All we’re focusing on is controlling what we can do,” he said. “If we keep winning the games, by the end of the season we’re looking at home-ice advantage. It’s hard for other teams to come in this building and win, so that’s our goal right now is just to keep winning, and everything else will play out.”

LU will be shorthanded once again this weekend, minus scoring star Matt Caria, down with an injured ankle and not expected back until the Carleton non-conference series after Christmas. Also questionable are forwards Jadran Beljo (knee, ankle) and Brennan Menard (concussion) and defencemen Mitch Mauno (knee) and Riley McIntosh, all of whom will be re-evaluated closer to game-time.

It’s just another challenge, said Gamache.

“We’ve been rolling four lines right from the UQTR weekend and it’s starting to pay off now. Everyone’s got their ice time in, everyone’s rolling and we’ve got enough depth up front and on the back to make up for (guys) being out.”
Game time at Fort William Gardens on Friday and Saturday night is the usual 7:30 p.m.

 
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Wolves to take on UMD in exhibition hockey play

Posted May 12, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

If you’re going to be the best, you have to beat the best. That’s just what the Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey squad will attempt on Oct. 2, when they head south of the border to take on the defending NCAA champion University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Centre. The Wolves last took on UMD and Thunder Bay’s Travis Oleksuk in 2008, falling 6-0. LU has not yet released the remainder of its 2011-12 schedule. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – Sports

Hyvarinen nets winner, Wolves clinch third

Posted February 13, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | 1 comment

Andy Hyvarinen scored the winner with 90 seconds to play in regulation, setting a return trip to Waterloo next week. Hyvarinen’s sixth of the season snapped a 2-2 tie between the Warriors and Lakehead Thuderwolves, who clinched third place in the OUA West with the triumph. The two teams will meet in the best-of-three opening round of the playoffs, the first game slated for Waterloo on Wednesday night. Game 2 will go Friday night at Fort William Gardens, with Game 3, if necessary, scheduled for Saturday night in Thunder Bay. Jordan Smith opened the LU scoring, tallying for the second straight night to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead 8:24 into the first. Josh Schappert tied the game on the power play at 6:54 of the second, but Ryan McDonald responded six minutes later with his team-leading 17th of the season to put LU up 2-1 after two. Kirt Hill scored the equalizer, again on the power play, 4:26 into the third. Matt Caria, in just his second game back after winning bronze at the World University Games, scored his 10th of the season into the empty net. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – Sports

Wolves hoopsters hit No. 6 in nation

Posted February 3, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | 1 comment

The Lakehead University men’s basketball team has jumped three spots in the national rankings. The Wolves, who swept No. 7 Windsor at home last weekend, moved into the No. 6 spot this week, leapfrogging the Lancers, Laval and St. Francis Xavier. Lakehead (13-3) hit the road for a pair against Waterloo this weekend. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – Sports

Wolves steal win

Posted January 28, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

Greg Carter could see the game slipping away. But Lakehead’s speedy third-year guard wasn’t about to let it happen. Not on his watch. Not in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Thunderdome. The Ottawa native made three third-quarter steals that led to baskets, drained a three-pointer and kept the No. 7 Windsor Lancers shooters on their heels as crunch time arrived, sparking the No. 9 Thunderwolves to a 73-65 triumph that lodged LU alone atop the OUA West Division. Carter, who had five steals, six assists and eight points on the night, said after losing an eight-point first-quarter lead and finding themselves down by one at the half, the Wolves (12-3) needed a change of pace after the break. “We just had to pick up the ball pressure and the guards had to start rebounding better. A lot of their guards were getting rebounds in the first half and that gave them excess chances in the second quarter,” Carter said. Those chances were all but non-existent in the second 20 minutes. When the rebounds did manage to fall into Lancer hands Carter and Jamie Searle – who had three steals and led the Wolves with 17 points – were there to take the ball away. “Greg just took over the game defensively,” said fellow guard Ben Johnson, who came off the bench to score five points, including a three late in the fourth that all but put the game away. “His defence really brought us up, and then everyone started going from there – Searle made big shots and Ven(zal Russell) made penetration. Pretty much those guys just did a great job in the second half.” Russell finished with 16. Carter was especially effective late in the third, as the Wolves, who went on a 9-0 run to start the period were threatening to pull away again, having allowed Windsor to creep to within four. After post Yoosrie Salhia powered to the hoop and double pumped his way to a basket that gave Lakehead a 46-40 lead, Carter stole the ball and scored to extend the lead to eight, then did it again on Windsor’s ensuing possession, dishing a rebound off his own missed shot to Matt Schmidt for a pair and a 10-point advantage. “I just felt that their guards were getting tired so I decided to pick up my ball pressure and eventually got some steals off of it,” Carter said, humbly. Windsor’s Andre Smyth and Isaac Kuon, the second-leading scorer in the OUA, hit back-to-back threes to start the fourth, but after Searle stretched the lead to five again, Carter made the Lancers (11-4) pay for a turnover, draining a three to make it 55-47. After Enrico Diloreto scooped in two of his game-high 22, the Wolves then went on a 13-4 run, and coasted home from there. Lakehead coach Scott Morrison, who was worried at the half about breakdowns on defence, said it feels good to be in first place, but it’s not something he plans to think about for long. “If we start thinking about it, it won’t be that long that we have it. So it’s the old saying is that if you’re still thinking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today. We’ve got about 90 minutes left to enjoy it and then we’ve got to start thinking about how we can put two on the board tomorrow night.” Claw marks : LU forward Brandon King was on the sidelines Friday night, and could be there for some time. King has a tendon issue in his right ankle, and was using crutches to get around. Morrison said he’s hoping King will be able to return to action before the season ends … Several Lakehead players wore pink shoelaces to support the fight against breast cancer. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – Sports

Hawks hold off Wolves in fourth

Posted January 15, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | 1 comment

Four times the Lakehead Thunderwolves had the opportunity to take a fourth-quarter lead. Four times they rushed the shot, only to see it fall into the hands of the Laurier Golden Hawks. In the end, the steady shooting of OUA all-star Renata Adamczyk and a timely six-point run with the game on the line ensured the women’s basketball Wolves went down to defeat 58-51. Adamczyk, who spent much of the Wolves crucial return from a seven-point deficit in the final quarter on the bench, saddled with four fouls. But like riding a bicycle, Adamcyzk put in behind her quickly when coach Peter Campbell gave her the nod and sent her back in, the game on the line. “I just had to help the team out and encourage the girls who were playing,” she said of her time on the bench. “Most definitely (Lakehead) went on a big run and they tied up the game and we just had to get stops on D and get scoring again and get the momentum back on our end,” said Adamczyk, author of 16 points, tied with Lakehead’s Tasia McKenna for tops in the back-and-forth contest. It was McKenna who keyed the LU comeback, scoring 12 of 15 points scored by the Thunderwolves at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter. Her hot streak began in with 20 seconds to go in the third, when she nailed a three-pointer to make it 45-38 for Laurier heading into the fourth. She dropped another trey to start the fourth, then hit one-of-two from the line, the miss going to Lindsay Druery on the offensive glass. The ball eventually wound up in McKenna’s hands again and buried a third three-pointer, pulling the Wolves to within two at 47-45. Adamczyk re-established a four-point Golden Hawks advantage, but then Sarah Gordon, playing on an injured ankle that earlier in the week threatened to keep her on the sidelines, blasted a three of her own and the Wolves trailed by one. McKenna was awarded a flagrant foul call and went to the line, but could only manage one of two free throws, tying the score 49-49. The Wolves got the ball, but could not take advantage of the opportunity against the stifling Laurier defence, the stingiest in the entire OUA. “Playing against them you’re going to take some poor shots because there’s a shot clock out there,” said LU coach Jon Kreiner. “You only have 24 seconds to take a shot. We talked to the girls about execution. We executed in spurts, but in the second quarter we scored five points, zero points for the first seven minutes. “I give full credit to Laurier for being physical. We didn’t have great position. Our posts scored nine points against them or whatever it was. We never got the position we normally get. They did a great job pushing our posts out of position so we couldn’t get the easy touches inside.” Christa Mancino put the Hawks (9-2) ahead for good with an easy hoop inside. Amber Hills doubled the lead with another easy basket and then Adamcyzk sealed it with a pair of timely free throws as the officials evened things out with a flagrant foul call the other way. Lakehead trailed 20-16 after one quarter and 32-21 at the half. The loss, their third in four games, dropped the Wolves (7-4) into a three-way tie for fourth spot in the OUA West. The two teams will tangle again on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Thunderdome. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – Sports

Wolves climb to seventh

Posted December 11, 2010 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | 1 comment

The Lakehead Thunderwolves will be the higher-ranked squad when the Manitoba Bisons invade Fort William Gardens at the end of the month. The Wolves jumped two places in the CIS national rankings, settling in at seventh spot as the Christmas break arrives. It’s the team’s highest ranking of the 2010-11 season. The Bisons, who arrive on Dec. 29 for a pair of games, are ranked ninth. Alberta maintains its season-long stranglehold on top spot, followed by UNB, which moves up one spot, leapfrogging McGill, the highest-listed OUA squad.
Neither the men’s nor women’s basketball teams, both 6-2 at the break, garnered as much as an honourable mention in their respective sport’s rankings.
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Wolves storm back to crown Queen’s

Posted November 20, 2010 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | 1 comment

Down nine points entering the fourth and final quarter, the Lakehead women’s basketball team found a way to get it done on Saturday night, eking out a 64-62 win over the visiting Queen’s Golden Gaels. Lindsay Druery had a double-double for the second straight night, netting 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds as the Wolves won for a fifth straight time, in their final home game for two months. Tasia McKenna had a dozen points and five assists and Emily Ross had 11 points for Lakehead (5-1). The Golden Gaels Brittany Moore topped all scorers with 19 points. Queens outscored the Wolves in each of the first three quarters, but were outdone 19-8 in the crucial fourth. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – Sports

Wolves storm back to crown Queen’s

Posted November 20, 2010 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

Down nine points entering the fourth and final quarter, the Lakehead women’s basketball team found a way to get it done on Saturday night, eking out a 64-62 win over the visiting Queen’s Golden Gaels. Lindsay Druery had a double-double for the second straight night, netting 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds as the Wolves won for a fifth straight time, in their final home game for two months. Tasia McKenna had a dozen points and five assists and Emily Ross had 11 points for Lakehead (5-1). The Golden Gaels Brittany Moore topped all scorers with 19 points. Queens outscored the Wolves in each of the first three quarters, but were outdone 19-8 in the crucial fourth. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – Sports

Penalties kill Wolves

Posted October 13, 2010 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Thunder Bay News | 1 comment

The Lakehead Thunderwolves lost a pair of early games to Waterloo last season and it cost them top spot in the OUA West. It very may well cost them again. Penalties paved the way for a trio of Warrior goals on Friday night, including Kyle Sonnenburg’s overtime winner with 12 seconds to go, and the Wolves (0-1-0) began their 10th campaign with a 5-4 loss to their division rivals. Sonnenburg took advantage of Matt Caria’s double minor midway through the extra frame, blasting a slap shot from the top of the circle that crushed its way past Alex Dupuis into the top corner of the Thunderwolves net. “It was a pretty close game all day. We were getting a lot of shots on net, we just put it in. Eventually we just got it in there,” a modest Sonnenburg said after the game. The fourth-year defenceman, who scored just three times last season, said the double minor Caria was the key blow that sank the Thunderwolves and gave Waterloo their third straight win over Lakehead and fifth in their last seven meetings. Having it happen in overtime, with one less body on each side, was just a bonus. “Most of the time you like four-on-threes as opposed to five-on-fours. You’ve got more room. There’s more space and you can get more shots off,” said the Waterloo native, whose team outshot Lakehead 9-0 in overtime and 41-32 overall. Lakehead coach Joel Scherban was not impressed with his team’s inability to stay out of the penalty box in the second half of the tightly forged contest, after taking just one penalty in the first 24 minutes of play. “We talked about it before the game. We couldn’t beat ourselves and we couldn’t take penalties. We had to play disciplined and with composure and as the game when on, we lacked that,” the second-year coach said. “There were quite a few slashing penalties, which are unacceptable, especially behind the other team’s net. And then (there was) the double minor in overtime. If you put yourself in situations like that, more likely than not you’re going to lose.” Scherban said his players have to learn that the opposition is going to come at them hard and try to draw them into taking penalties. The Warriors were successful at the game, and it took the life out of the Wolves, he added. That just led to a whole rash of other problems. “I thought as a whole our decision-making was bad and our execution was very poor in a number of areas,” Scherban said. “The guys were coming to the bench and talking about what they did wrong. They know when they came to the bench that they did it wrong. And that’s a problem, when they know what they should be doing and they’re not executing it. Lakehead jumped out to an early lead when rookie defender Mike Quesnele pinched in from the blueline and ripped a shot past Waterloo’s Keenan Hartigan at 8:36 of the opening period. Kris Hogg put Lakehead up two 70 seconds into the second, but then the Warriors took control. It was a game the Wolves controlled for most of the first 30 minutes, but one they let get away with a lack of discipline in the second. Waterloo notched two of its three middle stanza goals – coming seven minutes and seven seconds apart on the power play, starting with sophomore Kirt Hill’s first of the campaign at 6:38. After Zulyniak restored the two-goal LU lead at the 9:35 mark, Kyle Schwende cut the lead to one at 11:33 and two minutes later Kurt Thorner tied the score at three Waterloo’s Kirt Hill gave Waterloo its first lead 1:38 into the third, winning a goal-mouth scramble and knocking it past Dupuis. Fifth-year senior Andy Zulyiak tied the score at 4:27 of the third, floating a shot at Hartigan that was redirected by a Warrior player in front. Claw marks : Lakehead dropped its season-opener record to 4-5-1 with Friday’s OT loss. It was the fourth time in 10 openers they began with Waterloo. They won the first 9-3 in 2003, lost 2-1 in 2004 and edged the Warriors 5-4 in 2006-07 on a five-point night from Tobias Whelan … Fifth-year defenceman Zulyniak is sporting No. 22, this year, after wearing No. 34 his first four seasons with the Thunderwolves … Forward Brennan Menard and defenceman Mike Thibert were the Wolves healthy scratches. First period Scoring : 1. Lakehead, Quesnele 1 (Caria, McDonald) 11:36 pp. Penalties : Moir WAT (tripping) 9:38, Molle WAT (high sticking) 11:26 Second period Scoring: 2. Lakehead, Hogg 1 (Wilkins, Hyvarinen) 1:10, 3. Waterloo Whitely 1 (Sonnenburg, Schnurr) 6:38 pp. 4. Lakehead, Zulyniak 1 (McPherson, Alphonso) 9:35, 5. Waterloo, Schwende 1 (Ray, Moir) 11:33. 6. Waterloo, Thorner 1 (Schnurr, Moir) 13:45 pp. Penalties : Wilkins LAK (interference) 4:03, Caria LAK (slashing) 6:21, Anilane LAK (slashing) 12:24, Quesnele LAK (cross checking) 13:26, Ray WAT (interference) 14:30, Ray WAT (high sticking double minor) 16:42. Third period Scoring : 7. Waterloo, Hill 1 (Schnurr, Wong) 1:38. 8: Lakehead, Zulyniak 2 (McPherson) 4:27. Penalties : Hill WAT, Wilkins LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 7:10, Sonnenburg WAT (interference) 13:58, McDonald LAK (tripping) 16:09. Overtime Scoring : 9, Sonnenburg 1 (Ray, Whitely) 4:48. Penalties : Caria LAK (slashing, roughing) 2:07, Caria LAK (misconduct) 4:48. Game Data – SOG – Waterloo 8-11-13-9-41, Lakehead 11-13-8-0-0; Power plays (goals-chances) – Waterloo (3-6), Lakehead (1-4); Goaltenders – Waterloo: Keaton Hartigan, Lakehead: Alex Dupuis; A : 2,573.     View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – Sports

Quesnele QBs Wolves

Posted October 10, 2010 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Thunder Bay News | No comments yet

Mike Quesnele isn’t the biggest player on the ice, but good things come in small packages. Make that great things. The Lakehead Thunderwolves rookie blue-liner scored a pair of goals and added an assist on Saturday night, ensuring his team avoided an 0-2 start on home ice with a convincing 7-3 win over the visiting Waterloo Warriors. Quesnele, a 13-goal scorer with his hometown Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds a year ago, scored for the third straight night (including an exhibition against Ottawa last weekend), looking a lot like the catalyst from the point the Wolves have been searching for since the departure of Mike Jacobsen and Erik Lodge. The 21-year-old said the role appears to have been tailor-made for him. “In my junior career I was a power play guy, so I’m used to it,” he said. “When (coach) Joel (Scherban) brought me in, he said he needed me to do that, so that’s a role I’m ready to accept.” Scherban, who only added a pair of outsiders to the LU roster this season, said Quesnele is delivering exactly as advertised, at least through four appearances in a Lakehead uniform. “Our scouting had great reports on him. I was talking to Denny Lambert from Sault Ste. Marie and he told us how great he was going to be. He’s a good all-around player. So we had high expectations for him coming in, and he’s definitely met them so far,” Scherban said. “He’s extremely skilled. He sees the ice very well. He’s not overly big, but he’s strong on his skates and he’s good at both ends of the ice. He’s great on the power play, but we can also use him to kill penalties.” Though happy with his entire seven-man blue-line, Scherban said the 5-foot-8 Quesnele brings uniqueness to his defensive corps. “He adds a new element,” Scherban said. Blessed with a Howitzer of a shot from the point and a nose for the puck, Quesnele said there was no way the Wolves were going to let the Warriors come into the Gardens and secure the sweep. Not when they knew they left their best effort on the bench in Friday’s 5-4 overtime loss. “We weren’t too happy with our effort last night, especially on the power play,” Quesnele said. “We thought we got outworked. Tonight we made a lot of good plays. The puck was moving quick. We found the back of the net, and that was really key.” But it was the Warriors, winners of three straight over the Wolves, who struck first. Jarrett Schnurr surprised Lakehead’s Kyle Moir, making his first OUA start of the season, at 4:16, firing a shot over the third-year goalie’s right shoulder to give Waterloo (1-1-0) the early lead. Lakehead’s Andrew Wilkins didn’t take long to respond, pouncing on a turnover in front of Warrior goalie Keaton Hartigan and firing a quick wrist shot into the twine at the 6:53 mark. Quesnele put the Wolves ahead for good less than 90 second later, taking advantage of the inch or so of space the Warriors allotted him. “There was a little hole. I jumped in and I just gave Serge (Adam Sergerie) a quick yell and he gave me the puck and just got it off quick and found the back of the net,” Quesnele said. Kris Hogg added to the Wolves lead just 49 seconds into the middle stanza, managing to blast a wrist shot to Hartigan’s far side, despite a Warrior defender being draped all over him as he dashed down the left side of the Gardens’ ice. Brock McPherson, with his first of two on the night, made it 4-1 at 2:24, though Schnurr got one back before the period ended to cut the lead to just two. Unlike Friday, the Wolves didn’t let the Warriors back in this one. Up two men, Quesnele put the finishing touches on Waterloo with a rocket from the point that all but broke the sound barrier at the 6:22 mark. Arron Alphonso, with his first of the campaign, and McPherson rounded out the LU scoring. Chris Ray added a meaningless marker in the final minute of play. Waterloo coach Brian Bourque said his team made too many mistakes. “Physically I thought they took it to us for a bit. I felt we responded, but in the third our discipline wasn’t there and we took some penalties, and this is not a team you can take penalties against,” he said. Lakehead hits the road next weekend for a pair in Windsor, and return home the following weekend to host the Guelph Gryphons. Here are tonight’s tbnewswatch.com three stars: Mike Quesnele, Lakehead (2G, 1A) Brock McPherson, Lakehad (2G) Andrew Wilkins, Lakehead (1 G) Claw marks : Healthy scratches for the Wolves were forward Victor Anilane and defenceman Mark Thibert , who sat for a second straight night. As a result SIJHL grad Trevor Gamache was moved onto a line alongside McPherson and Alphonso. Gamache hit the crossbar at the 13:30 mark of the first … The Wolves were 2-for-11 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill … In other OUA play it was Ryerson over Carleton 5-1, York edged Windsor 3-2, McGill stomped Nipissing 9-4, Ottawa snuck past RMC 4-3, Laurier  beat UOIT 6-4, UQTR demolished Toronto 6-2 and Concordia knocked off Queen’s 8-5. First period Scoring : 1. Waterloo Schnurr 1 (Hill, Thorner) 4:16. 2. Lakehead, Wilkins 1 (Menard) 6:53. 3. Lakehead, Quesnele 2 (Sergerie, Caria) 8:20. Penalties : Lewicki WAT (interference) 4:26, Wong WAT (high sticking) 9:01, Welsh LAK, Whitely WAT (unsportsmanlike conduct) 15:51, Ray WAT (tripping) 17:32. Second period Scoring : 3. Lakehead, Hogg 2 (Hyvarinen) 0:49. 5. Lakehead, McPherson 1 (Quesnele) 2:24 pp. 6. Waterloo, Schnurr 2 (Hill, Sonnenburg) 5:42 pp. Penalties : Fraser WAT (slashing, unsportsmanlike conduct), Caria LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 1:53, McDonald LAK (tripping) 4:34, Fraser WAT (high sticking) 5:56, Lewicki WAT, Caria LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 5:58, Gamache LAK (hooking) 11:00, Veysey WAT (tripping) 14:38, Caria LAK (elbowing) 19:11 Third period Scoring: 7. Lakehead, Quesnele 3 (Sagert) 6:22 pp. 8. Lakehead, Alphonso 1 (unassisted) 9:10. 9. Lakehead, McPherson 2 (Maunu) 16:27.10. Waterloo, Ray1 (Moir, Schwende) 19:36. Penalties : Dileo WAT (slashing) 2:25, Schnurr WAT (slashing) 4:46, Dileo WAT (interference from bench, game misconduct) 5:38, Lewicki WAT (slashing) 9:53, Welsh LAK (roughing), Magill LAK (slashing), Ray WAT (slashing) 12:25, Schwende WAT (holding) 13:50, Quesnele LAK (interference) 18:28. Game Data – SOG – Waterloo 4-15-6-25, Lakehead 8-13-11-32; Power plays (goals-chances) – Waterloo (1-6) Lakehead (2-11); Goaltenders – Waterloo: Keenan Hartigan, Lakehead: Kyle Moir; A: 2,572. View full post on Tbnewswatch.com – Sports