Saturday night is hockey night in Canada and Fort William Gardens will be open for business.
The Lakehead Thunderwolves failed on Friday night to wipe the Windsor Lancers from the OUA playoff map, dropping a 4-1 Game 2 decision that sets up a winner-take-all finale Saturday for the right to play the Western Mustangs in the OUA West final.
"It was a disappointing effort from our guys," said LU coach Joel Scherban. "I thought one team played like their playoff lives were on the line, and unfortunately that wasn't our team. I gve Windsor credit. I thought they came out and executed their game plan and waited for their chances and capitalized, and I didn't think we played with the urgency or desperation we needed.
"I thought we tried to rely on skill a little too much and a lot of our shots were from the perimeter. We didn't seem to have that extra drive tonight."
Fifth-year forward Devin Welsh couldn't disagree with the words of his coach.
"Obviously they came out with their lives on the line and they played like it, and that's what we're going to have to do tomorrow," Welsh said.
"Any team is hard to knock out and hopefully we'll be hard to knock out tomorrow."
Welsh said playing twice against Guelph with elimination the penalty for a bad outing can only help them as the Wolves try to rebound from Friday's loss that knotted the best-of-three series at a game apiece.
"I think we have experience here. I think we have some big-game players and I think we're going to come back with our heads in it tomorrow and we're really going to work hard at it."
Tom Craig scored the second-period winner on a costly turnover deep in Lakehead territory and Drew Palmer and Kyle Makaric added third-period insurance markers 33 seconds apart to push the Windsor lead too far in front for any hope of a comeback. Palmer's goal came on a power play, a one-timer with LU penalty killer Andrew Wilkins minus his stick.
Makaric iced it with his second of the night at 12:46 of the final stanza, with Wilkins breaking free shorthanded and pushing a backhand past a stellar Peter Van Buskirk in the Windsor net for the Thunderwolves only goal of the contest.
Van Buskirk made 37 saves on the night and was the difference in this one, Welsh said.
"The guy played good today. He came and stepped in like he didn't want his season to be over, so we've got to get some bodies in front of him, more pucks to the net and shoot on a couple more opportunities," he said.
"We had 14 shots in the first period, and we could have had at least seven or eight more from good scoring areas. So we can't be fancy when a guy's hot. You've got to get to the net and get bodies to the net."
Windsor coach Kevin Hamlin was succinct on how it felt to storm into the Gardens and take a game against the Thunderwolves, their first playoff meeting in Thunder Bay in nine years.
"Yeah, it was a good win," he said.
Van Buskirk played well, he said, but he wasn't the only Lancer player to deserve credit, Hamlin added.
"I think everyone in our lineup played well," he said.
"We had timely goals and now we've got to regroup now and forget about tonight and worry about tomorrow."
Claw marks: Windsor had won eight in a row before dropping Wednesday's 3-2 overtime decision in the series opener ... Lakehead defenceman Mike Quesnele learned his fate on Friday and will sit three games for a match penalty incurred in Game 1. On-ice officials accused the second-year star of making a kicking motion ... Injured Lakehead forward Victor Anilane (shoulder) is expected to be out at least a week while he recovers ... Alex Dupuis made just 16 saves for the Wolves ... Attendance was announced at 3,410 ... Western edged Brock 3-2 to capture the other OUA West playoff series, and awaits the winner of this match-up ... In Ottawa, the McGill Redmen scored four times in the second to sweep the Gee-Gees. UQTR will play Carleton on Saturday, looking to close that series out.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: No scoring. Penalties: Pommels WSR (cross checking) 3:15, Menard LAK (hooking) 8:05.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Windsor, Craig (Oliphant, Gervais) 18:22. Penalties: Oliphant WSR (cross checking) 2:07, Makaric WSR (roughing) 11:54, Fillman LAK (high sticking) 18:57.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Windsor, Palmer 2 (Stippard, Turner) 0:29 pp. 3. Windsor, Makaric (Pommels, Vandenhogen) 1:02. 4. Windsor, Makaric (Vandenhogen, Pommels) 12:46. 5. Lakehead, Wilkins 2 (unassisted) 17:00 sh. Penalties: Makaric WSR (high sticking) 6:48, Welsh LAK, Todd WSR (roughing) 10:27, Menard (high sticking double minor) 15:52, Vandehogen WSR (high sticking, roughing), Wilkins LAK (high sticking, roughing) 17:28.
GAME DATA – SOG – Windsor 4-9-7-20, Lakehead 14-11-13-38; Power plays (goals-chances) – Windsor (1-3), Lakehead (0-4); Goaltenders – Windsor: Parker Van Buskirk, Lakehead: Alex Dupuis; A: 3,410.
