Alex Dupuis said his shutout of the Laurier Golden Hawks was two-and-a-half years in the making.
If there was any doubt about his coronation as the official No. 1 goaltender for the Lakehead Thunderwolves, the Thunder Bay native wiped it away on Friday night, along with 26 shots, as the Wolves collected their 12th win in 13 games, downing the Hawks 6-0 on friendly Fort William Gardens' ice.
"It definitely feels really good," said Dupuis, who has taken shutouts into the final minutes of games in the past, but had yet to seal the deal in the OUA regular season until this one was in the books.
"I thought the boys played extremely well. I had a couple of bad rebounds in the second period, but they came hard back-checking and cleared them.
Dupuis, making his fifth straight start at the expense of rookie Jeff Bosch's playing time, refused to take credit for the improvement in his play this season, preferring to defer to the team as a whole.
"Yeah, everyone's playing really good right now. Everyone's positive, everyone's got great attitudes and we're just enjoying it," he said, acknowledging he spent plenty of hours over the summer working with goalie coach Colin Zulianello.
"We tweaked my game and I feel really comfortable right now."
The guys in front of him certainly feel comfortable with him as their last line of defence. Defenceman Mike Quesnele, whose second period power-play marker sparked the three-goal period that put this one out of reach for the Golden Hawks, said they know they can count on Dupuis to bail them out whenever it's needed.
Not a bad compliment from a blue-liner who likes to rush the puck and has six goals on the season to prove it.
"He bailed us out a couple of times tonight and he was definitely deserving of the first star," Quesnele said.
LU coach Joel Scherban said both Dupuis and Laurier's Ryan Daniels played well in the first, a pretty tic-tack-toe passing play completed by Adam Sergerie with the Wolves down a man at the 1:52 mark, the only puck to beat either netminder.
"They both made a number of big saves, and finally we got through a little bit and some pucks started going into the net," Scherban said.
No save was bigger than Dupuis's stop on Thomas Middup, awarded a penalty shot at the 11:17 mark of the first.
It was the second period that made all the difference on the score sheet, a two-minute, two-man power play that officially put this one out of reach.
Laurier's Mitch LeBar and Brent Vandenberg were both sent off at 7:13 of the second, and the Wolves made them pay dearly, netting a pair of power play goals, their only two in 11 chances, to take a 3-0 lead midway through the period.
Quesnele scored the first, a blast from the top of the circle that Daniels had no chance at, roofing it from 30 feet away. Keith Grondin scored with a second left on Vandenberg's infraction.
"Special teams is huge, especially the way the game is now," Quesnele said. "It's nice to get a shorty quick and then I felt our power play generated a lot of chances in the first. We couldn't get one, but we got two in the second and that kind gave us the boost we needed for the rest of the game."
Laurier (4-9-0) was shorthanded in more ways than one on this night, missing a pair of defencemen who left the team and only able to dress 15 skaters.
Devin Welsh made it 4-0 when he stole the puck from Laurier's Frank Riddle and raced down the left side of the ice, roofing a shot that sealed Daniels's fate for the night.
David Clement took over for his all-star teammate to start the third and promptly surrendered a goal to Victor Anilane, who slid it under the newcomer just 92 seconds into the period, putting the Wolves up 5-0.
"It was a good feeling, I've been looking forward to that," said Anilane, who also added a helper for a two-point night.
Ryan Magill wrapped up the scoring with 2:36 to go, breaking his stick in the process for his first of the regular season.
Claw marks: Mitch Maunu made his return to the lineup after missing four games with an ankle injury ... Riley McIntosh, who had been sidelined with a lower-body injury, was a healthy scratch. Brennan Menard (concussion) also sat, as did Matt Caria, who won't return until after Christmas ... Former NHL referee and director of officiating Bryan Lewis was in the press box overseeing the officials. The game was played with two referees ... A source close to the team said to expect an impact signing to add to the team's forward ranks after the Christmas break. The source said the player is presently playing in the ECHL.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, Sergerie 10 (Hammond) 1:52 sh. Penalties: Wilkins LAK (interference) 0:30, Middup LAU (tripping) 3:17 Malouin LAK (roughing) 3:17, Vanni LAU (high sticking) 5:13, Riddle LAU (cross checking), Albion LAU (high sticking) 9:40, Middup LAU (tripping) 13:37, Welsh LAK (slashing) 13:05, Lebar LAU (cross checking) 13:45, Marsden LAU (check to head, misconduct) 20:00.
Penalty shot: Laurier, Middup 11:17 (miss).
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Lakehead, Quesnele 6 (Fillman, Hammond) 8:05 pp. 3. Lakehead, Grondin 3 (De la Lande, Hammond) 9:12 pp. 4. Lakehead, Welsh 5 (unassisted) 18:59. Penalties: Riddle LAU (holding) 4:30, Lebar LAU (slashing), Vandenberg LAU (slashing) 7:13, Vandenberg LAU (cross checking) 10:22, Grondin LAK (roughing) 12:00, Wilkins LAK (high sticking) 13:32.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 5. Lakehead, Anilane 2 (Grecica, Magill) 1:32. 6. Lakehead, Magill 1 (Grecica, Anilane) 17:24. Penalties: Poulter LAU (hooking) 11:17, Welsh LAK (roughing), Lebar LAU (unsportsmanlike conduct) 12:23.
GAME DATA – SOG – Laurier 11-9-6-26, Lakehead 19-12-16-47; Power plays (goals-chances) – Laurier (0-4), Lakehead (2-11); Goaltenders – Laurier: Ryan Daniels (31 shots, 27 saves), David Clement (0:00 third), Lakehead: Alex Dupuis; A: 2,814.
