Lakehead’s collapse down the stretch continued on Friday night.
Adam McKee scored two minutes into the third period, the difference in Western’s 4-3 OUA men’s hockey home-ice win.
It was Lakehead’s fourth straight loss.
Mike Hammond, with a pair, and Jake Carrick with his sixth of the season, had LU’s goals.
David Corrente, Steven Reese and Thunder Bay’s Zach Harnden had Western’s other tallies.
The second-place Wolves fell to 15-7-3 with the loss, four points behind Western (18-6-1) in the race for top spot in the OUA West.
Lakehead travels to Brock on Saturday to play their final road game of the campaign.