Devin Welsh wasn't ready for his Lakehead hockey career to end.
The fifth-year forward scored the winning goal with under a minute to play Saturday night, powering the Lakehead Thunderwolves into the second round of the OUA playoffs with a 3-2 win over the pesky Guelph Gryphons.
It was the second of the postseason for Welsh, who was stoned earlier in the third by Guelph goalie Cody St. Jacques, an open net beckoning the Winnipeg native with just over six minutes to go in regulation and the game tied 2-2.
"(Thomas) Frazee picked it up and went wide and I knew I had to get to the net and open up a lane for someone behind me. And as it was he threw it across and it ended up going off my shaft and in," Welsh said.
"I got lucky I guess," said Welsh, glad the Wolves survived and earned a date with Windsor starting Wednesday on the road.
"It was a huge relief. I missed a couple of big chances earlier and that would have been a really terrible way to go out. Me and Mitchie (Maunu) get another series here."
Lakehead coach Joel Scherban said he had no qualms having Welsh out there in the final minute of play, a rarity in past years when he was in and out of the lineup.
"He's played extremely well over the last few weeks and really doing everything we ask. He's found a real role as a penalty killer and we use him in all situations," Scherban said.
Frazee, the consensus best player on the ice, said he just looked at the winning play as a run-of-the mill breakout, that started when Mike Quesnele, author of the game's first goal for the second night in a row, made a nice up-ice pass.
"The forward at the blue-line kind of committed to me and I made a move around him, had a lot of speed and could see the defensive gap wasn't that good so I thought I'd take it wide. Devin did a great job driving the net and I threw it at him.
"I don't know if it went off his head or his stick, but who cares?" Frazee said.
The two teams entered the third period tied at a goal apiece, Zach Lillie having knotted the score at the 12:37 mark of the first.
Lakehead and Guelph played a scoreless, penalty-free middle stanza, but then the Gryphon's Edward Gale struck 4:14 into the third, putting the surprising Gryphons, who took the opener 5-4 before falling 5-1 on Friday at Fort William Gardens, ahead for the first time of the night. Ironically Welsh was in the box for holding, drawing the extra minor on a double roughing call.
But refereeing being what it is in Thunder Bay, the even-up call wasn't far behind, and with Patrick Campbell sitting for the Gryhons, LU's Andrew Wilkins whacked it home 1:40 later, to tie the game 2-2.
Lakehead had the best of the scoring opportunities the rest of the way. Frazee spotted a wide open Ryan Magill on a 2-on-1, but Guelph's Nathan Martine managed to get his stick on the puck and knock it away before Frazee could send his line-mate in alone.
Minutes later Jake Carrick and Ryan McDonald sped in on St. Jacques on a shorthanded, 2-on-1 attack, but McDonald fanned on his shot, which nearly caught the Guelph goalie off guard before he batted it out of harm's way.
"It was pretty nerve wracking, but we stuck with it and the boys knew if we executed our game plan, we were going to be all right," said Frazee, who had a pair of assists on the night.
Lakehead continued to pile on the pressure and Scherban said he wasn't looking for perfection, just a chance.
"It wasn't going to be a pretty goal that won. We had to go to the net, get pucks to the net and sure enough, that's how the game was won," he said.
Claw marks: High-scoring forward Matt Caria was not in the lineup, once again a healthy scratch. Scherban said in all likelihood the Sault Ste. Marie native will play against Windsor, but he plans to discuss it with his coaching staff before making the commmitment ... WIndsor, their second-round opponent, eliminated York on Saturday with a 5-1 triumph. UQTR evened its series with Ryerson with a 7-5 win.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, Quesnele (Gamache, Fillman) 5:11 pp. 2. Guelph, Lillie (unassisted) 12:37. Penalties: Macdonald GUE (holding) 3:09, Brook GUE (cross checking) 4:59, Carrick LAK (highsticking) 16:40.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: No scoring. Penalties: none.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Guelph, Gale (Martine) 5:14. 4. Lakehead, Wilkins (Frazee, Fillman) 5:54 pp. 5. Lakehead, Welsh 2 (Frazee) 19:11. Penalties: Jefferies GUE (roughing after the whistle), Quesnele LAK (slashing) 2:00, Welsh LAK (holding, roughing after whistle), Franchini GUE (roughing) 3:55, Campbell GUE (5:16), Odam GUE (interference, roughing after the whistle), served by Franchini, Magill LAK (roughing after the whistle) 8:33, Menard LAK (elbowing) 9:09, Gamache LAK (cross checking) 10:34, Jefferies GUE (hooking) 15:55.
GAME DATA – SOG – Guelph 9-19-6-34, Lakehead 10-10-12-32; Power plays (goals-chances) – Guelph (1-4), Lakehead (2-5); Goaltenders – Guelph: Cody St. Jacques, Lakehead: Alex Dupuis; A: 2,149.
