The puck is about to drop on another hockey season for the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
Coach Joel Scherban has had a busy off-season recruiting players. The team's early exit after only one round of the OUA playoffs was a bit shocking, since it was the first time the Thunderwolves failed to advance to the second round it its 10-year existence. But it did allow Joel to get a bit of a jump on the recruiting and soon we will see how his off-season work will pay off.
Lakehead opened last Friday in a non-conference series with the traditionally strong University of Quebec at Trois Rivieres. The first night was a bit of a letdown, a one-sided 5-2 loss, but the squad rebound nicely the next night, thanks to Mike Hammond's five-point effort, and the Wolves went on to a 5-1 win.
The first regular season home game is next Friday against the powerful McGill Redmen.
This season also marks the 10th anniversary that I'll be on the road with the team, calling the play-by-play on CKPR radio. The first game of the new broadcast season is set for Friday, Oct. 14 in Ottawa against the Gee-Gees.
An interesting point is that during my first season on-air the Thunderwolves advanced to the nationals in Fredericton, N.B. on a goal on an overtime goal scored by Scherban against the University of Toronto in the OUA wild card game.
This season also sees the OUA holding the wild card, meaning three teams from the conference will go to nationals, which once again are being held in Fredericton.
