THUNDER BAY – Nic Renyard is quickly making a case to be No. 1 in net for the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
The NCAA transfer stopped all 22 shots he faced on Friday night, blanking the visiting UOIT Ridgebacks 3-0 in his LU debut, including 14 stops in a scoreless first period, making a solid statement to both his teammates and the team’s fan base that they might have found their man between the pipes.
“I had a couple nerves early on there, obviously my first game with the new team. I feel like I have a lot to prove to myself,” Renyard said.
“But after that first kind of a weird tipped shot that I was able to track, it kind of calmed me right down after that first save.”
Renyard became just the second Lakehead goaltender to record a shutout in the team’s season-opener, the first since Alex Dupuis turned the trick in 2010 against Ottawa.
His steady work came in handy in the first, a period that saw the Wolves out-shot 14-7 against a Ridgeback squad that finished sixth in a tough OUA East conference last season, extending their opening round series against Concordia to the limit before bowing out in three games.
It’s just what he likes.
“You get into the game really early, we’ve got a small rink and you really get into it,” the Victoria native said.
Lakehead coach Bill McDonald isn’t ready to anoint anyone the starter, reminding reporters that Devin Green played well last season down the stretch – adding he’ll also get the start in Saturday night’s rematch at Fort William Gardens.
But first impressions are lasting and McDonald liked what he saw from Renyard, whose best stop came early in the second when he stymied UOIT’s Loren Ullet from point-blank range.
“To tell you the truth, it’s the first game I’ve seen him play,” McDonald said. “Obviously he comes with credentials. He was the Junior A player of the year a few years ago and he was in Massachusetts where he fielded a lot of good rubber there.
“That’s his demeanor. He’s the same way in the dressing room, the way he approaches things. There’s a calmness about him and it was a really good game.”
Renyard, in his third-year of eligibility after two seasons with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, wasn’t the only first-year player to make an impression on Friday night.
Forward Daniel Del Paggio, shifted from wing to centre with the Thunderwolves, ripped home a second-period backhander to break a scoreless tie, his first in an LU uniform.
It felt great, the 21-year-old said.
“It was an amazing game. It was obviously nice to score my first goal. Not that it matters but it gets that out of the way. The main thing is we won. It was a good all-around effort and it’s was a great game,” Del Paggio said.
The goal itself was a thing of beauty, set up by a razor-sharp pass off the stick of defenceman Patrick Murphy.
“It was a Karlsson-esque pass. He’s a really good heads-up defenseman, really good offensively and with a guy like that you’ve got to have your stick on the ice at all times,” Del Paggio said.
Dylan Butler doubled the LU lead midway through the second, one-timing a Brennen Dubchak cross-crease pass past Ridgeback goalie Tyson Teichmann. Dubchak wrapped up the scoring four minutes later on a breakaway.
Claw marks: UOIT’s Spencer Roberts is the nephew of former NHLer Gary Roberts.
First period
Scoring: None. Penalties: RInguette LAK (interferences) 4:10, Latina UOIT (interference) 5:43, Alexander LAK (hooking) 8:04, Masters LAK (cross checking) 14:05.
Second period
Scoring: 1. Del Paggio (Jenkins, Murphy) 10:00. Penalties: Faust LAK (roughing) 12:17.
Third period
Scoring: Penalties: 2. Lakehead, Butler (Dubchak, Alexander) 12: 25. 3. Lakehead, Dubchak (Donnelly) 16:47. Gall LAK (slashing), Blasko UOIT (cross checking) 4:43, Jarvis OUIT (cross checking), Ringuette LAK (high sticking) 10:20. Locke UOIT (high sticking) 10:35, Patterson UOIT (high sticking) 11:27.
GAME DATA – SOG – UOIT 14-6-2-22, Lakehead 7-14-15-36; Power plays (goal-chances) – UOIT (0-4), Lakehead (0-2), Goaltenders – UOIT: Tyson Teichmann, Lakehead: Devin Green; A: 2,182.
