Thunderwolves players support team's direction, coach

Justin Sefton said hearing management voice its support for Lakehead Thunderwolves coach Bill McDonald is reassuring.

The Wolves, buried in last place in the OUA West hockey standings, with only a single point to their name in a disastrous 0-9-1 start to the campaign, last week indicated McDonald was here to stay and that’s good news, said the homegrown Sefton.

“It’s tough to play for a team if you don’t know if management or whoever is the head is second-guessing your coaching staff,” said Sefton, author of a goal and three assists in 10 games this season.

“Personally, I don’t second-guess our coaching staff we have. The systems they’ve put in place, I believe in. I think it’s just now a matter of the guys in the room turning it around.

“At the end of the day, none of them are on the ice, it’s just the players that are. So it’s up to us. It’s not up to anyone else.”

It’s not hard to pinpoint where the losses are coming from.

The Thunderwolves are last in the OUA in goals per game, putting up just 2.2 a night. While their power play is clicking at 13 per cent, the penalty kill is among the bottom four in the league, successful just 71.7 per cent of the time.

And only Ryerson’s gaudy 6.08 team goals against average is worse than the 4.83 GAA posted by LU goalies Jeff Bosch and Devin Green.

Despite the poor play, Sefton said rumours of McDonald’s demise behind the bench were not being discussed in the dressing room.
“No, it never came up once. And if it would have come up, I think the leaders would have cut that down pretty quick,” Sefton said.

Fellow blue-liner Jay Gilbert said hearing McDonald will be guiding the ship for the foreseeable future is a morale boost.

“It’s nice to see the team is going to be sticking together. I don’t think it’s a case at all of any of the players having any questions in the coaching or with the systems that we’re playing,” Gilbert said. “It’s just the players. We’re just not finding ourselves enough not to win the game. We’re playing hard right to the end, but just not enough to get the wins.”

It’s a learning process said Gilbert, one of the few true veterans on a team adorned with 17 first- and second-year players.

But it might be a little bit more than that, he admitted, pointing to the team’s record.

“We’re not going to look for excuses to say that we’re a young team. We can’t be looking for reasons of why we’re not winning. It’s just us looking in the mirror and saying it’s that guy looking back at you and maybe you can start playing a little better,” Gilbert said.

“It’s tough. I’ve never been through anything like this.”

McDonald said the team is just going to keep at it and he’s hopeful the wins will follow.

“Obviously, we’re 0-9-1 and nobody likes that. It’s an awful record and I feel bad for the organization and the fans. We’re going to keep plugging. We’re not out of it. We know that. That’s being said, we’ve got another couple tough games in Windsor this weekend against another top-notch team,” McDonald said.

“We’re going to stick with it. I know for a fact the guys haven’t quit. We were very competitive in Western, but kind of came up on the short end.”

Lakehead returns to Fort William Gardens next weekend to face the Toronto Varsity Blues. -- With files from Ryan Bonazzo