It might be a night for fighting, but this season the Lakehead Thunderwolves don’t seem to have much punch on Saturday nights.
The Wolves (4-12-4), with Jeff Bosch back between the pipes for the first time since before Christmas, played a listless brand of hockey against the Ryerson Rams at Fort William Gardens, continuing their woeful ways in the second game of a series this season.
Just once have the hockey Wolves pulled out a Saturday night win in eight attempts, outscored 45-23 in those contests.
“I think we’re just getting a little too up after wins on Friday and we need to come in more focused on Saturday, that’s all,” said LU forward Jake Wright.
“You know, maybe a little more focus in the dressing room before the game and come out at the drop of the puck.”
Coach Bill McDonald is at a loss to understand what’s going wrong in Game 2s this season.
“We had meetings this morning, we had video this morning and you’d think they’d come with a little more energy,” McDonald said. “I guess that’s my fault, but I don’t know what else to do. They seemed good before the game.
“It just seemed a little – I don’t want to use the word dead – but there was not as much energy as we had a month ago or we started to play pretty well.”
Needless to say the third-year coach wasn’t happy with the performance.
“To me, this is probably our worst game since way back when we played Windsor, because we started to play pretty good then.”
This one was never really in doubt, despite the Thunderwolves twice pulling to within a goal in the first 26 minutes of the 6-3 contest.
Trouble is the Rams had twice staked themselves to two-goal leads.
Daniel Clairmont was the offensive star for Ryerson, scoring two of his three goals while his team was shorthanded. Line-mate Kyle Blaney picked up assists on all three goals.
Ryerson (10-11-0), jumped in front early, Clairmont beating Bosch just 3:57 after the opening puck drop. Luca Doctor scored on what appeared to be a deflection in front to make it 2-0 at the 10:09 mark of the first.
Garick Gray, who scored twice for the Thunderwolves, got LU on the board at 13:34, with Clairmont restoring the Rams two-goal edge on a Jake Ringuette turnover with the Wolves on the man advantage. Gray struck again early in the second, taking a feed from Tyler Anton, who faked out Rams goalie Taylor Dupuis and slid the puck across the crease to his waiting teammate.
The Rams would strike twice in rapid succession before the middle frame ended, Aaron Armstrong and Vince Figliomeni finding the mesh for a 5-2 Ryerson lead.
Clairmont and Lakehead’s Justin Sefton traded goals in the third.
The Rams out-shot the Thunderwolves 49-28, scoring once in seven power-play opportunities. The Wolves connected once in five power-play chances, Sefton’s goal coming with Mitch Gallant serving a roughing minor.
The Wolves, four points behind Laurier and Brock and in the OUA West basement, visit Brock and York next weekend.
Claw marks: McDonald confirmed forward Cody Alcock is done for the season. Alcock injured his knee in Friday night’s 5-2 win and will need surgery. He’s expected back to start next season. Scratches, other than Alcock, included Cody Kostecki, David Quesnele, Tyler Kunz and Justin McDonald.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Ryerson, Clairmont 7 (Blaney) 3:57. 2. Ryerson, Doctor 2 (Armstrong) 10:09. 3. Lakehead, Gray (A. McDonald, Maw) 13:34. 4. Ryerson, Clairmont (Blaney) 16:45 sh. Penalties: Gilbert LAK (tripping) 11:25, Basso RYE (roughing) 16:29.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 5. Lakehead, Gray (Anton, Ainsworth) 6:36. 6. Ryerson, Armstrong (Lewis) 14:23 pp. 7. Ryerson Figliomeni (Armstrong, Wigle) 16:59. Penalties: Blaney RYE (slashing) 8:50, Sefton LAK (interference) 12:25, Faust LAK (slashing) 17:46.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 8. Ryerson, Clairmont 9 (Blaney, Mercer) 3:02 sh. 9. Lakehead, Sefton (Ringuette) 6:39 pp. Penalties: Wigle RYE (elbowing) 2:00, Gallant RYE (roughing, misconduct, served by Tsogkas) 6:07, Foese RYE (hooking) 8:06, A. McDonald LAK (high sticking) 11:40, Alexander LAK (slashing, high sticking, served by Jenkins), Lewis RYE (high sticking) 14:16, C. Dubchak LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 15:09, A. McDonald LAK (cross checking) 17:14,
GAME DATA – SOG – Ryerson 18-17-14-49, Lakehead 10-10-8-28; Power plays (goals-chances) – Ryerson (1-7), Lakehead (1-5); Goaltenders – Ryerson: Taylor Dupuis, Lakehead: Jeff Bosch; A: 1,946.
