The Western Mustangs took a huge step Friday to secure top spot in the OUA West.
And their hero was just who it ought to be.
Keaton Turkiewicz who tops the nation with 41 points, scored the lone goal of the night in front of a sold-out Fort William Gardens crowd, the goal coming in the second, with the Wolves in the midst of killing off a two-minute two-man shorthanded situation.
Give a team like the fourth-ranked Mustangs chances like that and odds are they're going to capitalize – especially if it happens more than once on the same night.
Western's Zach Harnden, a Thunder Bay native who spent five years in the OHL and played six games last season with Manchester of the American Hockey League, said it's crunch time for both teams, with so much on the line.
He's just happy his side came out on top, stretching their division lead to four points, with three meetings between the two clubs still on the slate – including a rematch at the Gardens on Saturday night.
"These games couldn't have come at a more important time," Harnden said. "We knew with our schedule it was probably going to be like this when we got here, and sure enough we were two points ahead of them and these games are huge.
"Now we've got ourselves a little bit further ahead and we've got to keep going."
Though neither Western coach Clarke Singer nor Lakehead coach Joel Scherban was willing to place the game on the two-referee, four-official system adopted for the game – the league reasoning teams need to get used to it for nationals – it was tough for either side to develop a flow with so many penalties being whistled down.
Western's Scott Aarsen was sat down just 23 seconds into the contest, setting the tone for a game that saw 17 power plays split between the two teams, including a pair of two-man advantages on either side.
"I don't think it was the four-man system for the reason there were so many penalties," said LU's Scherban. "I think the officials just called it a lot tighter than we're typically used to."
Still, whether it was making one too many passes or moves on the way to the net, the Wolves just couldn't capitalize on their opportunities, including a pair of tricky deflections by the now healthy Ryan McDonald and one in the third by Trevor Gamache.
Western goalie Josh Unice, who stopped 29 shots on the night, was there at every turn, the puck finding its way into his 6-foot-1 frame when the Wolves did manage to get the shot off.
"We never really got into a flow in the first two periods," Scherban said. "I can't imagine there were more total of five-on-five. It was all penalty kill. I thought in the third period was probably the most exciting for the fans, when it was five-on-five the whole period."
Singer said Unice deserved any and all praise he got. But he also had nice things to say about Lakehead's Alex Dupuis, author of 19 saves.
"Josh was a big difference tonight. I thought both him and Alex had great games. Alex made some big saves when it was 1-0 to keep Lakehead in the game, and Josh did a great job for us tonight ... I thought the chances were pretty close," Singer said.
"I don't think you could look at many people who played tonight, goalies or D or forwards, who didn't leave it all on the ice. It was a real good hockey game."
Early in the second, Turkiewicz took advantage of the two-man advantage, working his way free in the LU zone and fired a sharp wrist shot that just eluded Dupuis's reach, the goal coming at 2:07.
Western's Kevin Baker appeared to pot an insurance marker five minutes into the third, but the goal was waved off, the officials saying he purposely redirected it in with his foot.
Scherban pulled Dupuis with a minute-and-a-half to go and the Wolves applied their most sustained pressure of the evening, but couldn't put the puck past Unice.
Claw marks: Scratches for the Thunderwolves included Luke Maw (D), Riley McIntosh (D), Jadran Beljo (F), Jason Grecica (F) and Victor Anilane (F) ... It was the second straight loss for the Wolves (16-5-0), just the second time this year they've reached that futility mark. The first was the season opening series against McGill ... Western improved to 17-2-2 ... It was the first time Lakehead was shut out since Waterloo blanked them twice in last year's playoffs, ousting them in the opening round for the first time in team history.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: No scoring. Penalties: Aarssen WES (hooking) 0:23, Caria LAK (roughing) 5:29. Cimadamore WES (slashing), Frazee LAK (cross checking) 7:48. Wilkins LAK (high sticking), 9:59, Eastman WES (hooking) 11:01. Frazee LAK (hooking) 11:33, Paltridge WES (slashing) 15:4, Nemeth WES (tripping) 16:49, Carrick LAK (kneeing) 19:19.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Western, Turkiewicz (Aarssen) 2:07 pp. Penalties: Frazee LAK (cross checking) 1:45, Ashman WES (interference) 6:43, Aarssen WES (interference) 8:51, DeSando WES roughing) 12:09, Killing WES (high sticking) 13:25, Caria LAK (high sticking) 14:50, Maunu LAK (hooking) 18:35, Wilkins LAK (boarding) 19:43.
Third period
Scoring: No scoring. Penalties: Harnden WES (goaltender interference, misconduct), Gamache (roughing, misconduct) 12:26.
GAME DATA – SOG – Western 10-5-5-20; Lakehead 9-9-11-29; Power plays (goals-chances) – Western (1-9), Lakehead (0-8); Goaltenders – Western: Josh Unice, Lakehead: Alex Dupuis; A: 3,735.
