Skip to content

Windsor scores twice late to edge Thunderwolves 5-4

To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. There was no beating Spencer Pommels on Friday night.
364256_74258261
Lakehead's Mitch Fillman is stopped by Windsor goalie Parker Van Buskirk Friday night at Fort William Gardens. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.

There was no beating Spencer Pommels on Friday night. The high-scoring Windsor forward picked an opportune time to complete his hat trick, scoring the game winner with less than six seconds to play in regulation, earning the unbeaten Lancers (6-0-0) a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Lakehead Thunderwolves at Fort William Gardens.

Linemate Drew Palmer tied the contest with 1:13 to go, after the Thunderwolves had scored three straight to take the lead, capped by Jake Wright’s third of the season, a power-play marker at the 7:03 mark of the third.

"They ended up tying it up and taking the lead and they were really coming. We kind of figured they would in the third," said Pommels, who has eight goals and seven assists in six games, his 15 points tops in the OUA.

"Once Palmer was able to get that one, we kind of settled back in and played our game. And in the last minute I just kind of tried to find a soft spot behind the D and luckily the puck came to me."

It's a loss Lakehead coach Bill McDonald wants to forget in a hurry.

McDonald and company won't have much time, a Saturday date with the Lancers their reward for Friday's loss.

"Tomorrow night's going to be more mental than anything else," McDonald said. "You can see how good a team they are. They don't beat themselves and maybe that's what we've been doing a little bit this year. But if you can find a positive, and it's hard to find a positive in a tough loss like that, the way we played in the third is the way we've got to play."

Down 3-2, the Wolves connected on back-to-back power-play attempts in the final stanza, Mitch Fillman redirecting a Mike Hammond pass -- his third assist of the night -- for the equalizer. Wright tallied the go-ahead goal 2:21 later, nudging the twine from in close on Van Buskirk.

Pommels opened the scoring late in an uninspiring first.

Things got interesting in the second. Hammond stole the puck in Windsor territory and fed a rocket pass to Keith Grondin, who caught the Windsor goalie going the wrong way at 2:27. But 61 seconds later the Lancers were back on top, Palmer firing a quick snap shot from the slot that beat Justin McDonald, filling in for the still-injured Jeff Bosch.

Less than two minutes later Pommels upped the Windsor lead to 3-1, firing a weak shot through McDonald's five-hole.

Brennen Dubchak pulled the Wolves within a goal late in the second, scoring in traffic in front of the Windsor net.

Dubchak also had a chance to put the game away in the final stages of the third, but was tripped up as he bore down on Van Buskirk.

"I'm not whining or crying," said Bill McDonald, "but you've got the lead and young Dubber has a breakaway and whether it was a hook or not, the next thing you know they come down and score and it's in our net. The one obviously that bothers us is the one that beat us.

"It was a missed coverage coming back into our zone ... We had a couple of guys going to the same guy. (Palmer) made an unbelievable pass across the net. You give it Pommels and he's going to be on the scoreboard every time."

The loss snapped Lakehead’s modest three-game win streak.

Claw marks: Attendance was 2,711 ... Lakehead was playing without second-year forward Cody Alcock, who has a hand injury and likely won't be back until mid- to late Novemeber.

FIRST PERIOD
Scoring
: 1. Windsor, Pommels 6 (Luciani, Green) 18:18. Penalties: Hope WSR (roughing) 5:11.

SECOND PERIOD
Scoring
: 2. Lakehead, Grondin 3 (Hammond) 2:37. 3. Windsor, Palmer 3 (Luciani) 3:38. 4. Windsor, Pommels 7 (Green, Beaudoin) 5:10. 5. Lakehead, B. Dubchak 2 (Magill, Hammond) 12:24. Penalties: Blondeel WSR (slashing) 9:58.

THIRD PERIOD
Scoring
: 6. Lakehead, Fillman (Hammond) 4:42 pp. 7. Lakehead, Wright (M. Quesnele) 7:03 pp. 8. Windsor, Palmer 4 (Prier) 18:47. 9. Windsor, Pommels 8 (Palmer, Green) 19:54. Penalties: Maw LAK (roughing) 1:45, Green WSR (charging) 3:40, Noel WSR (cross checking) 5:33, B. Dubchak LAK (high sticking) 7:57, Ainsworth LAK (tripping) 13:13.

GAME DATASOG – Windsor 15-9-10-34, Lakehead 10-11-10-31; Power plays (goals-chances) – Windsor (0-2), Lakehead (2-4); Goaltenders – Windsor: Parker Van Buskirk, Lakehead: Justin McDonald; A: 2,711.



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
Read more



push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks