Jeff Bosch should sit out the first half more often.
The fourth-year goalie, out of the lineup since smashing his head on the ice against the York Lions on Oct. 10, channeled his best Carey Price impersonation Friday night, nearly leading the Lakehead Thunderwolves to a stunning upset over the visiting NCAA seventh-ranked University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at Fort William Gardens.
The fairy-tale ending came to a crashing halt, however, with just six-tenths of a second left in overtime when UMD blue-liner Andy Welinski, a third-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2011, raced up the ice and converted Karson Kuhlman’s shot, beating Bosch on the backhand to earn the Bulldogs a 3-2 win.
“You work so hard all game,” said Bosch, who made 46 stops, many in acrobatic fashion, in his return to action. “I thought if we could have gotten to a shootout we’d have a pretty good shot. We’ve got some pretty good shooters. But it happens. That’s hockey. You can never expect anything.”
Welinski, who also drew an assist on Austin Farley’s power play equalizer midway through the third, said he looked at the clock and saw there was 17 seconds left.
That’s when opportunity struck.
“We were lucky enough to get a blocked shot in our end and it hopped up to Kuhlman there and I just put my head down and tried to catch up to him up the wing,” the Duluth native said. “He made a really good play to make a good shot where I could get a rebound.”
Outshot, but not out-hustled, the Wolves relied on Bosch’s catlike reflexes time and time again as the Bulldogs repeatedly blasted the puck toward the Lakehead net. It was to no avail. Bosch had the answer each and every time.
Or so it seemed.
Midway through the second, nursing a 1-0 lead after Mike Hammond beat Kasamkir Kaskisuo on a breakaway at the 8:27 mark of the middle stanza, Bosch robbed Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Dominic Toninato, stretching his left skate as far as humanly possible to keep the puck out of the net.
Later in the period he took a Welinski blast off his mask, shaking his head twice before continuing on with the action.
Tempers got the better of the two teams in the second, with four players, two on each side, sent off for roughing after a few punches were thrown.
The Bulldogs finally beat Bosch early in the third, Kuhlman sliding it past Bosch with Lakehead captain Luke Maw draped all over his back, the delayed penalty already called.
The Wolves failed to score on an ensuing 1:05 two-man advantage, but with four Bulldogs on the ice Kelin Ainsworth pulled the trigger, firing a second shot top shelf past Kaskisuo at the 8:31 mark to restore LU's one-goal lead. But 69 seconds later, with Cody Alcock in the box, Farley tied it again with a low rocket that rang off the post before crashing into the twine.
It was a tough loss, LU coach Bill McDonald said.
“They came as advertised,” McDonald said. “They skate well, they shoot the puck a ton. Bosch obviously gave us a chance to win. I thought our guys played with a lot of heart and a lot of desire and we gave ourselves a chance to win.”
Bosch was unquestionably the star of the show, he added, though McDonald’s initial plan was to pull him after 30 minutes.
“I said, ‘I can’t take this kid out now.’ That’s a good sign. We’ll probably start Justin (McDonald) tomorrow. But Jeff Bosch, it was an incredible effort for a guy who’s been out for a long, long time.”
Claw marks: Friday’s contest marked Justin Sefton’s Thunderwolves debut. The former third-round pick of the San Jose Sharks collected three two-minute minors … Attendance was announced as 3,081 … Bosch drew an assist on Hammond’s second-period tally.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: None. Penalties: Sefton LAK (boarding) 11:37, Kaskisuo UMD (cross checking) 15:39, Cull LAK (tripping) 18:37.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, Hammond (Grondin, Bosch) 8:27. Penalties: Faust LAK (roughing), C. Dubchak LAK (roughing, misconduct), Soucy UMD (roughing), Kotyk UMD (roughing, misconduct) 9:52, Gilbert LAK (high sticking) 19:54, Sefton LAK, Toninato UMD (roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct) 20:00
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Minnesota-Duluth, Kuhlman (Soucy) 4:19. 3. Lakehead, Ainsworth (C. Dubchak, M. Quesnele) 8:31 pp. 4. Minnesota-Duluth, Farley (Welinski, Iafallo) 9:40. Penalties: Iafallo UMD (roughing) 6:24, Kotyk UMD (tripping) 7:19, Alcock LAK (roughing after the whistle) 8:31.
OVERTIME
Scoring: 5. Minnesota-Duluth, Welinski (Kulman) 4:59. Penalties: McCormack UMD (slashing) 2:57.
GAME DATA – SOG – Minnesota-Duluth 17-14-15-3-49, Lakehead 5-12-9-1-28; Power plays (goals-chances) – Minnesota-Duluth (0-4), Lakehead (1-3); Goaltenders – Minnesota-Duluth: Kasimir Kaskisuo, Lakehead: Jeff Bosch; A: 3,081.
