THUNDER BAY – The good news for the Lakehead Thunderwolves is they managed to beat the defending Queen’s Cup champions and the second-place team in the OUA West Division.
The bad news is the victory won’t count in the standings for the cellar-dwelling, point-starved Thunderwolves.
A pair of third period goals on a five-minute power play from Cody Alcock led Lakehead to a 4-2 non-conference win over the Guelph Gryphons at the Fort William Gardens on Tuesday night in the team’s annual Christmas Challenge in honour of Jim Johnson.
But even though it won’t get them a much-needed two points, knocking off a top team can give them confidence as they prepare for a do-or-die second-half slate.
“We’ve been struggling this year. We’ve been competing with some of the best teams and we had a pretty tough schedule,” Alcock said. “We’ve beat Windsor and now we’ve beaten Guelph so we’re capable of playing with these top teams. We just have to get on a role and get some things going.”
Lakehead head coach Bill McDonald insisted a win is a win, regardless of whether it appears in the final standings.
He was pleased to see his team carry over the little momentum built during the final couple of weekends in the first half and carry it forward even after the holiday break.
“The last six or seven games we played pretty well,” McDonald said.
“I think we’ve played the same way but things are starting to go our way. It’s a terrible record but these guys pick themselves up every game and they come out every night the next night and seem to play with passion and a want to win.”
With fifth-year senior goaltender Jeff Bosch still injured, the Thunderwolves turned to rookie netminder Devin Green who turned aside 26 shots to outduel Gryphons goalie Andrew D’Agostini, one of the best in the conference.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring in the first period with Gryphons forward Tryg Strand beating Green just 3:17 into the contest.
Lakehead drew even a little more than 10 minutes later just after a power play expired with Brennan Dubchak finishing off a nice touch pass from linemate Garrick Gray.
The Thunderwolves took their first lead in the late stages of the second period when E.J. Faust capitalized on a Dubchak centring pass from the corner, roofing a shot over the glove of D’Agostini just seconds before being sent sprawling onto the ice by a charging defender.
That lead evaporated six minutes into the third as Trevor Morbeck fired a seeing-eye point shot through a crowd and past a screened Green to pull Guelph even.
The big break for Lakehead came later in the period after Guelph defencemen Kyle Neuber was sent off for a five-minute major after hitting Thunderwolves blueliner Jake Ringuette from behind.
Alcock netted the first halfway through the man advantage, crossing the blueline and wiring a snap shot past D’Agostini on the blocker side.
The insurance came with just two seconds remaining in the power play as he one-timed home a pretty feed from Billy Jenkins after defenceman Jay Gilbert held the line.
“Getting that first one got us going and then that second one was a gift from (Jenkins) and a great play by Gilbert to step up and keep it in,” Alcock said.
Claw marks: Including non-conference and regular season games, the win is only the fifth of the campaign for Lakehead in 22 contests…Ringuette went straight to the locker room after the hit and did not return. McDonald said he suffered a “nasty” cut and he was sporting a large bandage on his forehead after the game. It’s unknown whether he will play on Wednesday…Gryphons forward Lenny Fabbri is the older brother of St. Louis Blues forward Robby Fabbri…The two teams face off in a rematch Wednesday with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Gardens.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Guelph, Strand (Gilbert) 3:17. 2. Lakehead, B. Dubchak (Gray, Faust) 13:58. Penalties: C. Dubchak LAK (checking to the head, misconduct) 8:13; Gilbert GUE (hooking) 11:54.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Lakehead, Faust (B. Dubchak, C. Dubchak) 17:43. Penalties: Raycroft GUE (tripping) 11:34; Green LAK (roughing) 13:04; Gilbert GUE (roughing) 15:35.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Guelph, Morbeck (Fabbri, Robertson) 6:01. 5. Lakehead, Alcock (Anton) 16:02 PP. 6. Alcock 2 (Jenkins, Gilbert) 18:18 pp. Penalties: Hynnes LAK (tripping) 3:51; Neuber GUE (checking from behind, game misconduct) 13:20.
GAME DATA – SOG – Guelph (12-10-6-28), Lakehead (10-12-14-36); Power plays (goals-chances): Guelph (0-3), Lakehead (2-3); Goaltenders – Guelph: Andrew D’Agostini (32 saves, 36 shots), Lakehead: Devin Green (26 saves, 28 shots); A: 2,022
