The teddy bears didn't mind the wait.
It took Ryan McDonald nearly two full periods to put the first puck in the net Friday night. It didn't exactly open the floodgates, but the Lakehead Thunderwolves offence awoke in the third, good for three more tallies that pushed them past the tenacious visiting Calgary Dinos 4-2.
"I think in the first part of the game, both teams were feeling each other out. Obviously they're a team from the west and I've played there my whole career, said MacDonald, who added a second goal, the eventual winner, on a rapid-fire, tic-tac-toe passing play with Mike Hammond and Mike Quesnele that beat Calgary goalie Jake DeSerres with five-and-a-half to go.
His first, with 90 seconds to play in the second, resulted in a cascade of teddy bears hitting the Fort William Gardens ice, launching the Wolves annual teddy bear toss for charity.
McDonald and his teammates weren't thinking about stuffed animals for long, given their opponent, though it took them awhile to get going.
"I know they're a bunch of big strong boys who can go out there and block shots. I think for our team it was just a feeling out process. And give them credit. They came out super hard. That's probably the hardest a team has come out against us all year. It was a good challenge for the boys, and good to see the boys rise above."
McDonald, who has five regular-season goals, said the slow start had nothing to do with the fact it was non-conference play, noting the game does factor into the national rankings when they're tabulated each week.
It was a test for the shorthanded Wolves, playing without injured top scorer Adam Sergerie, point leader Matt Caria and forward Jadran Beljo, one of the better offensive threats on the LU roster, McDonald said. It was also a chance to strut their stuff against the usually tough Canada West Conference, where the Dinos are 9-7-0 in 2011-12.
"We just wanted to put ourselves to the test and see how we compared to a team from that league out there. They're one hell of a team, and I thought we played a complete game out there," McDonald said.
Well, almost complete, save a brief lapse on a 5-on-3 power play late in the third. Up 2-0 at the time, and seemingly in control, the Wolves defensive effort fell asleep at the switch, allowing Thunder Bay's Walker Wintoneak to waltz through to LU goalie Alex Dupuis, his weak shot fluttering past the third-year puck-stopper on his glove-hand side at the 13:15 mark of the third.
The Wolves response was almost immediate.
"For sure, whenever you give up a goal, it's never a good thing, but especially if you give up a 5-on-3 goal. You never want to see that happen. But you know, I think the big thing about our team this year is that we're putting stuff behind us and living in the moment, going out there that next shift and taking it right to them," said McDonald, the author of the goal, which came 65 seconds after Wintoneak's, the Wolves still up two men.
"And as you can see by the shift after, we potted a 5-on-3 goal and we just kept the play going from there."
Scherban said the slow start was a feeling-out process, as his troops adjusted to the depth and speed of the Dinos.
"I thought after the five or six-minute mark we adjusted really well. I thought it was one of our more complete games of the year," he said.
Scherban also liked that his team didn't get down on themselves when the goals didn't go in, chances like Jake Carrick's first-period shot that rang off the post, the best scoring opportunity until McDonald finally scored.
"I thought out bench did a good job. Nobody seemed frustrated. It was really upbeat and the guys were happy with the way they were playing. We just thought if we kept working it was only a matter of time before we got some goals.
Hammond, who's been dynamite on home ice, made it 2-0 on a breakaway at 12:41 of the second. Trevor Gamache extended the LU lead to 4-1 on a shorthanded breakaway late in the third, with Colton Grant cutting the lead to two in the final minute of play, too little, too late for the Dinos.
Claw marks: Scherban said Sergerie, who has an upper body injury, should be back after Christmas ... Brennan Menard (concussion) was back in the LU lineup ... Attendance was 2,760 ... The Wolves and Dinos are back at it again on Saturday night ... Western scored three goals in an eight-minute, third period span Friday night to beat Guelph 6-4. The win gives the Mustangs solo top spot in the OUA West at the Christmas break. Western on Thursday beat Waterloo 4-3 in a shootout ... Former NHLer Cory Cross is an assistant with Calgary. He spent 12 seasons in the big leaugues, with Tampa Bay, Toronto, New York, Edmonton, Pittsburgh and Detroit. He's also a CIS graduate, spending three years with the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: No scoring. Penalties: Moore CGY (high sticking) 7:45, Welsh LAK (roughing) 16:24.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, McDonald (Hammond, Grondin) 18:30 pp. Penalties: Malouin LAK (slashing) 2:54, Zahn CGY (holding) 6:26, Robinson CGY, Quesnele LAK (roughing) 18:01, McNaught CGY (cross checking) 18:15, Grant CGY (high sticking) 19:14.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Lakehead, Hammond (Quesnele) 12:41. 3. Calgary, Wintoneak (Zahn, DeSerres) 13:15 sh. 4. Lakehead, MacDonald (Hammond, Quesnele) 14:20 pp. 5. Lakehead, Gamache (unassisted) 16:50 sh. 6. Calgary, Grant (Zahn, Nixon) 19:25. Penalties: Stefishen CGY (slashing) 11:54, Eiskenkirch CGY (hooking) 12:41. Jorgensen CGY (tipping) 13:03, Welsh LAK (tripping), Ross CGY (cross checking), McNaught CGY (roughing), Sagert LAK (roughing) 16:50.
GAME DATA – SOG – Calgary 8-8-11-27, Lakehead 9-15-5-29; Power plays (goals-chances) – Calgary (0-3) Lakehead (1-5); Goaltenders – Calgary: Jacob DeSerres, Lakehead: Alex Dupuis; A: 2,760.
