All that was missing was the Unknown Comic.
After a promising start, Friday night's meaningless non-conference game quickly turned into a 186-penalty minute, two-referee Gong Show that mercifully ended in a shootout, the winning goal in the 4-3 decision coming off the stick of Lakehead's Adam Sergerie.
It salvaged a blown three-goal lead by the Wolves, who led the visiting Carleton Ravens 3-0 heading into the final stanza of play, only to see their opponent convert three of six power play opportunities to send the game to overtime.
"Yeah, it was absolutely frustrating," Sergerie said. "As a player, obviously it's a game where you're going into the period with a 3-0 lead. The mentality is pretty much come out, play good hockey and don't change anything and just stick to what was working.
"Obviously we got into some penalty trouble and it really hurt us. We gave up three goals. It's furstrating, but at the end of the day, we won."
Luckily for LU, it wasn't as costly a win as it first appeared.
Defenceman Mitch Fillman, tossed from the game for a second period fight, had his penalties changed after the contest to a pair of misconducts and a game misconduct. which team officials believe means he won't serve a two-game suspension when third-place Waterloo hits town next weekend.
Similarly blue-liner Mike Quesnele, tossed from the penalty box for voicing his opinion in the third period as the one-sided penalty parade continued, won't face further disciplinary action.
Not that Sergerie or anyone else on the bench was too upset with their emotional teammates.
"You never want to see guys get injured or suspended, but at the same time, these are games that prepare you for the long run, and that's what we use these games for," Sergerie said.
Lakehead coach Joel Scherban said it wasn't hard to tell the hearts of players on both sides of the ice weren't exactly in this one, at least not for the full 60 minutes.
"I think tonight's game got to the point for both teams where we just wanted to move away from this game and start preparing for next weekend," Scherban said. "We didn't want anything negative to come from this game," Scherban said.
It sure looked positive in the early going.
Newcomer Thomas Frazee, playing just his second game in a Thunderwolves uniform, capitalized first, one-timing the puck past Ryan Dube from the Carleton goalie's doorstep, the power-play marker coming at the 1:14 mark of the first. Frazee later came to the defence of goalie Jeff Bosch, throwing a few punches at Carleton's Connor Barrett, who crashed the crease, bowling over Bosch in the process.
Frazee got lucky and walked away with a double minor for roughing, mainly because his punches didn't connect with Barrett.
Sergerie, who leads the team with 10 OUA goals, banked a shot off the pads of Dube, caught out of position, doubling the LU lead at 8:46.
Rookie Chris de la Lande made it 3-0 late in the second, blasting a shot off the crossbar that deflected into the net behind Matthew Dopud, who took over from Dube after 20 minutes.
But the Ravens, 9-5-2 in conference play, showed they've got what it takes to compete, their comeback beginning at the 5:22 mark of the third when Joey Manley beat Bosch on a second effort, with two Wolves in the box serving time.
Four-and-a-half minutes later he was at it again, cutting the LU lead to one, with half a period to go. Jeff Hayes tied it a 13:05, then moments later nearly gave the Ravens the lead, denied by the quick glove of the rookie Bosch.
Both teams had quality chances in overtime, with Bosch getting the better of an Andrew Self deflection and Dopud stopping Trevor Gamache on a partial breakaway. Each side also had a power play in the extra period, but neither side could convert. Bosch stopped Linden Bahm, Joe Pleckaitis and Shane Bakker in the shootout.
Claw marks: Wolves forward Ryan McDonald is still out with concussion-like symptoms. Scherban said he'll be evaluated again on Monday. Also on the sidelines were defencemen Riley McIntosh and Kalvin Sagert (hamstring) and forwards Victor Anilane and Keith Grondin ... Attendance was announced at 2,442 ... LU opens the OUA second half next weekend with a visit by the Waterloo Warriors ... Carleton boasts a pair of former NHLers on its coaching staff. Shaun Van Allen played 794 games, mostly with Ottawa and Anaheim, while Dale McTavish spent nine games with Calgary in 1996-97.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, Frazee (Wilkins, Hammond) 1:14 pp. 2. Lakehead, Sergerie (Gamache, Caria) 8:46. Penalties: Stanisz CAR (unsportsmanlike conduct) 1:25, Bakker CAR (slashing) 12:06, Frazee LAK (hooking), Manley CAR (unsportsmanlike conduct) 19:54.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Lakehead, De la Lande (Sergerie) 18:52 pp. Penalties: Maw LAK (cross checking) 5:03, Deagle CAR (high sticking) 7:15, Albert CAR (slashing) 8:15. Quesnele LAK (cross checking), Caria LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct), Fillman LAK (misconduct, misconduct, game misconduct), Frazee LAK (slashing), Carrie CAR (misconduct, misconduct, game misconduct), Deagle CAR (cross checking), Pleckaitis CAR (slashing) 9:26. Barrett CAR (interference) 10:01, Sergerie LAK (hooking) 11:40, Beljo LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 14:06, Self CAR (cross check ing) 15:17, Stanley CAR (slashing) 16:48, Frazee LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct), Folkes CAR (spearing double minor), Stanisz CAR (tripping) 18:26.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Carleton, Manley (Stanisz) 5:22 pp. 5. Carleton, Manley (Peckaitis, MacLean) 9:59 pp. 6. Carleton, Hayes (Billingsley) 13:05 pp. Penalties: Magill LAK (tripping) 3:53, Sergerie LAK (tripping) 4:21. Menard LAK (holding) 6:52, Quesnele LAK (misconduct), Frazee LAK (double minor roughing, misconduct) 9:30, Caruana CAR (misconduct), Barrett CAR (goalie interference), Caria LAK (holding the stick) 11:43, Quesnele LAK (misconduct, game misconducgt) 11:43, Beljo LAK (high sticking) 16:41.
OVERTIME
Scoring: No scoring. Penalties: Carrick LAK (slashing) 1:45, MacLean CAR (boarding) 3:58.
SHOOTOUT
Carleton: Linden Bahm (save)
Lakehead: Matt Caria (miss)
Carleton: Joe Pleckaitis (save)
Lakehead: Adam Sergerie (goal)
Carleton: Shane Bakker (save)
GAME DATA – SOG – Carleton 10-5-14-6-35, Lakehead 8-11-7-2-28; Power plays (goals-chances) – Carleton (3-9), Lakehead (2-6); Goaltenders – Carleton: Ryan Dube (eight shots, six saves), Matthew Dopud (0:00, second), Lakehead: Jeff Bosch; A: 2,442.
