THUNDER BAY – The task in front of the Lakehead Thunderwolves is pretty clear. It’s also, in many respects, out of their hands.
After falling 3-2 in a shootout on Thursday night on the road to the Toronto Varsity Blues, the Thunderwolves men’s hockey team sits one point back of the idle York Lions with two games to go.
In order to claim the fourth and final playoff spot in the OUA West, the T-Wolves must pick up at least two points next weekend, again on the road, against the division-leading Ryerson Rams.
Under that scenario, York cannot pick up a single point in its final three games, one against Toronto and two next weekend against the Rams.
York (5-6-2), has won two of three against Lakehead this season and owns the tiebreaker between the two teams.
Anything short of that will leave Lakehead on the outside looking in when the playoffs roll around in two week’s time.
Toronto, by virtue of their one-goal win, clinched a playoff berth, sitting four points ahead of Lakehead and in possession of the tiebreaker, by virtue of beating LU four of five times the two teams met this season.
Greg Smith and Stephen Fox scored Lakehead in regulation, the latter evening the score 2-2 at the 10:24 mark of the third.
Billy Moskal, who opened the scoring at 1:54 of the second, and Steven Elliott, who gave Toronto a 2-01 lead with 7:43 to go in the middle stanza, had the Varsity Blues goals.
Joe Mack scored for Lakehead in the shootout, but Danny Katic evened things up, beating Max Wright on Toronto’s last shot and Elliott won it two attempts later.
Alex Bishop made 32 saves for Toronto to pick up the win. Wright was good on 36 of 38.
Lakehead (5-8-1) has missed the playoffs just twice since returning to OUA hockey in 2001-02, in 2015-16 and 2018-19.
The Thunderwolves take on Toronto on Friday and Saturday nights.
