Rough win

It was no teddy bears’ picnic for the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Saturday night.

On the prowl for a ninth straight triumph, the Wolves ran into a rough-and-tumble Regina Cougars squad looking to revenge Friday night’s 6-3 loss.

They didn’t quite get there, falling 4-2, but didn’t take any prisoners, giving Lakehead all it could handle and knocking out star Wolves forward Kris Hogg early in the first with concussion-like symptoms, the damage coming on a questionable high hit by Regina’s Lucas Isley.

Andy Zulyniak, who came to Hogg’s rescue and later scored the goal that put Lakehead up for good with four minutes left in the first, said he jumped Isley to send a message that Lakehead’s stars aren’t easy marks.

“It was a pretty dirty hit and you don’t like seeing that,” said Zulyniak, in his fifth and final season with the Thunderwolves.

“He’s my roommate, friend and one of our top players, so you can’t let that slide. I know it’s not a conference game, but you’ve got to jump in and stand up for teammates."

Hogg, who has 16 points in 16 games and was invited next week to try out for an OUA squad representing Canada at the World University Games in Turkey next month, spent the rest of the game watching from the press box.

It was his second brush with a head injury this season, and though he looked out of it when helped off the ice, he said he felt OK afterward.

“I don’t remember the hit,” he said, sounding confident he’ll make the trek to London, Ont. for the Team Canada training camp that starts Dec. 10. “But I remember the game before the hit and I remember everything after.”

Zulyniak said his goal, which put the Wolves up 2-1, was definitely dedicated to his fallen teammate.

“Definitely. I was actually looking back door to (Ryan McDonald), but I got a tip, so it was nice to get back on top. It was a lucky goal,” he said.

With Fort William Gardens tensions running high after the hit on Hogg, that slammed him into the ice and left him crumpled on the ground for a couple of minutes, Lakehead coach Joel Scherban said the game could have gotten ugly.

But while referee Eric Vastamaki handed out 124 minutes in penalties, including nine misconducts that were mostly for pushing and shoving incidents that fell just short of fighting, Scherban said the outcome could have been much worse.

“We’re fortunate that we got out of there with only one injury and no suspensions,” said Scherban, walking a fine line not wanting to criticize the officials for fear of reprisal. “It’s a game we’ll move on from.”

In one questionable call, with time running out in the third, officials tacked seven seconds back on the clock, ostensibly because they missed an icing call earlier and wanted to even things up.

To do that on the ice the Cougars would have had to have found a way to neutralize Lakehead’s Ryan McDonald.

The second-year forward had a goal and two assists, all in the first period, as Lakehead built a 3-1 lead. His goal, a pretty three-way passing play with Matt Caria and Victor Anilane, opened the scoring at the 12:20 mark, and let loose a flood of stuffed animals onto the ice, thanks to the team’s annual teddy bear toss promotion.

Dillon Johnstone tied it 68 seconds later on the power play. Up 2-1 on Zulyniak’s marker, Mike Quesnele ripped a power play goal of his own through traffic, beating Regina goalie A.J. Whiffen, who never saw the puck roar past him into the net, thanks likely to a redirection in front.

Johnstone pulled the Cougars to within a goal, again with the man advantage, at 6:31 of the second, but Kyle Moir, who made 27 saves, shut the door the rest of the way.

Ryan Magill closed out the non-conference contest early in the third, stealing the puck at the Regina blueline and going in alone on Whiffen, beating him five-hole.

The Wolves return to action on Dec. 29 at home against the Manitoba Bisons. 

First period
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, McDonald (Caria, Anilane) 12:20. 2. Regina, Johnstone (Nielson, Thoring) 13:28 pp. 3. Lakehead, Zulyniak (Wilkins, McDonald) 16:03. 4. Lakehead, Quesnele (Sagert, McDonald) 18:20 pp. Penalties: Sawa REG (interference) 2:31, Isley REG (roughing), Zulyniak LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 10:01, Hyvarinen LAK (interference) 13:06, Reeve REG (hooking) 18:13.

Second period
Scoring: 5. Regina, Johnstone (A. McPherson, Delaronde) 6:31 pp. Penalties: Gross REG (unsportsmanlike conduct), Quesnele LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 4:36, McDonald LAK (hooking) 5:00, Sagert, LAK (high sticking) 7:42, McPherson LAK (misconduct), Bender REG (roughing, misconduct) 7:57, Delaronde REG (misconduct), Menard LAK (misconduct) 18:11, Gamache LAK (misconduct), Bhungal REG (misconduct) 18:33, Thoring REG (tripping) 19:08.

Third period
Scoring: 6. Lakehead, Magill (unassisted) 5:35. Penalties: McDonald LAK, Bender REG (unsportsmanlike conduct) 7:51, Strueby REG (hooking) 10:25, Selinger REG (interference) 13:38, Delaronde REG(slashing, roughing, misconduct), Bender REG (misconduct) Maunu LAK (misconduct)19:36

Game Data – SOG – Regina 8-12-9-29, Lakehead 13-8-10-31; Power plays (goals-chances) – Regina (2-3), Lakehead (1-7); Goaltenders – Regina: A.J. Whiffen, Lakehead – Kyle Moir; A: 2,704.