Justin Sefton said he woke up Saturday kicking himself after his team lost an overtime heartbreaker to the UMD Bulldogs with six-tenths of a second to go.
He was at a loss to explain Lakehead’s 8-4 defeat in the rematch.
The drive to win was there, said Sefton, playing just his second game in a Thunderwolves uniform, after an aborted stint in the professional ranks.
“They didn’t change their game too much,” the Thunder Bay native, a former third-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, said.
“We didn’t do a good enough job pushing them to the outside and obviously there were a few bad bounces there. Some nights not everything goes your way and I think that’s what it was. We had a great third period and I think we just need to roll from there.”
Playing on your heels is never a formula for success, said Sefton, especially against the NCAA’s No. 7-ranked team.
“That’s something we’ve got to change. Going into a game you’ve got to bring it to them, you can’t let other teams bring it to you.”
And bring it to the Wolves the Bulldogs did, firing eight pucks past a beleaguered Justin McDonald, who nonetheless managed to make 41 saves against a UMD team looking to make a statement after only scoring three the night before.
Despite the lopsided nature of the contest, LU coach Bill McDonald thinks the Wolves learned valuable lessons they can take into the OUA second half as they battle for playoff positioning.
“I think it’s a good tune-up for going into the OUA,” he said.
“Going into this weekend, who would even give us a chance to go to overtime in even one game? We did it. You’ve got to learn how to lose before you learn how to win. It’s going to help us for sure.”
The second-year coach chose his words carefully when asked about the number of times the Bulldogs lit the lamp behind his sophomore goaltender, thrust into a starting role for much of the first half with starter Jeff Bosch sidelined by a concussion.
“Obviously he’d probably like to have a few of them back. That’s part of it. But I wasn’t putting (jeff) Bosch in no matter what. He’s pretty sore after the game he put in last night,” Bill McDonald said.
Justin McDonald held his own in the opening 10 minutes, he and UMD goalie Matt McNeely stopping every shot directed their way.
But while McNeely would hold his shutout before being removed midway through the second, McDonald wasn’t as fortunate.
Blake Young and Alex Iafallo staked UMD to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes and the Bulldogs tacked on three more in the second, courtesy of Willie Raskob, Karson Kuhlman and Justin Crandall, whose quick shot surprised the LU netminder.
David Quesnele finally put the Wolves on the board on a partial break five minutes into the third, rifling the puck past McNeely’s replacement Alex Fons.
The joy was short-lived. Raskob scored unassisted to make it 6-1. Keith Grondin and Nathan Cull scored back-to-back tallies to cut the lead to three, but it was close as Lakehead would get.
Tony Cameranesi and Jared Thomas added tallies for UMD, with Lakehead’s Cody Alcock rounding out the scoring with 14 seconds to play.
UMD coach Scott Sandelin said he’s happy to get the wins, but says there are a few things he wants his team to clean up before their next Division 1 contest.
“As a coach you always find something wrong,” Sandelin said.
Claw marks: Sandelin was a second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens (40th overall) in 1982. He played 25 games in his short-lived NHL career, recording four assists … Attendance was 3,270 … The Wolves next home games are Jan. 16 and 17 against UQTR.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring. 1. Minnesota-Duluth, B. Young (A. Young, Johnson) 10:35. 2. Minnesota-Duluth, Iafallo (Decowski, Farley) 16:04 pp. Penalties: Sefton LAK (holding) 15:40, Corrin UMD (holding) 18:14.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Minnesota-Duluth, Raskob (Decowski) 2:27. 4. Minnesota-Duluth, Kuhlman (McCormack) 8:23. 5. Minnesota-Duluth, Crandall (Decowski, Soucy) 10:23. Penalties: Welinski UMD (slashing), Cull LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 1:04, M. Quesnele LAK (high sticking) 14:30.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 6. Lakehead, D. Quesnele (Magill) 5:06. 7. Minnesota-Duluth, Raskob (unassisted) 6:54. 8. Lakehead, Grondin (Magill, Gilbert) 8:11. 9. Lakehead, Cull (Gilbert) 11:05. 10. Minnesota-Duluth, Cameranesi (Farley, Soucy) 11:50. 11. Minnesota-Duluth, Thomas (Corrin, A. Young) 14:52. 12. Lakehead, Alcock (Carrick, Ainsworth) 19:46. Penalties: Johnson UMD (cross checking) 13:10, Sefton LAK (tripping) 13:43, Maw LAK (slashing) 14:36, Crandall UMD (double minor, spearing, served by Farley), Dubchak LA.K (roughing) 16:00
GAME DATA – SOG – Minnesota-Duluth 12-21-16-49, Lakehead 10-10-12-32; Power plays (goals-chances) – Minnesota-Duluth (1-3), Lakehead (0-2); Goaltenders – Minnesota-Duluth: Matt McNeely, Lakehead: Justin McDonald; A: 3,270.
