THUNDER BAY – Aaron Wesley-Chisel and Austin McDonald know they have to take advantage of opportunities when they can get them.
Getting playing time with much of the Lakehead Thunderwolves roster banged up, the duo made their presence known as they each supplied a clutch goal to help their squad escape with a 4-2 win in a Saturday night battle with the Royal Military College Paladins at the Fort William Gardens.
Wesley-Chisel, a second-year blueliner who came to the team after his Superior International Junior Hockey League career, netted his first in a Lakehead jersey to erase an early deficit with McDonald following up 41 seconds later to give the Thunderwolves a lead they would hold for the remainder of the contest.
“I was pretty happy and my teammates were pretty happy for me,” Wesley-Chisel said. “Down 1-0 right away, I think it was just good that scoring that goal right away really got the guys going.”
Heading into this weekend, Wesley-Chisel had only suited up for two of Lakehead's first nine games while McDonald had only dressed for four.
Their performances could lead to tough decisions down the road for Lakehead head coach Andrew Wilkins.
“Those guys are character guys for us,” Wilkins said. “They show up. They work hard every day. They’re great teammates and they rewarded themselves. It’s going to be hard to take them out. They’re playing really good hockey.”
The start of the game was delayed when a fire alarm began ringing as soon as both teams took to the ice, prompting an evacuation of the Gardens that forced the 1,799 fans in attendance as well as officials and players to head outside.
Firefighters responded and quickly cleared the building, allowing everyone back inside.
“Our leaders are really good. Everybody was focused,” Wilkins said. “It was the first time I’ve seen that in 10 years here but it is what it is. You just can’t get too distracted by something you can’t control.”
The Paladins, who on Friday mounted a third period comeback bid that fell just short, opened the scoring in the rematch with Rhett Wilcox finishing a three-on-one by beating Lakehead goalie Nic Renyard.
Lakehead answered back six minutes later with just one second left on a power play when Wesley Chisel pinched in from the point to fire a shot past Paladins goalie Brad Van Schubert.
The momentum from that goal carried forward to the next shift with McDonald, the fifth-year senior forward, burying his second of the campaign.
“Working hard every shift, you get paid off,” McDonald said. “It’s nice to actually put it in the back of the net. I’ve been creating chances for a couple of games here and it’s nice to get one.”
The feisty contest built on bad blood and aggression from the previous night with multiple post-whistle scrums. McDonald was among those to mix it up with the visitors, earning himself a penalty and 10-minute misconduct after a second period altercation.
The Thunderwolves got some insurance with a second period tally by Daniel Del Paggio, who got just enough of his stick on a loose puck to direct it into a wide open net.
The lead was cut to one on a Liam Stagg goal late in the second, but the Lakehead defence kept the visitors at bay for the rest of the night. The Paladins frequently surrounded the Lakehead net but Renyard continually answered the bell, turning aside 24 shots to pick up the victory.
Sam Schutt closed out the scoring with a last-minute empty net tally.
The victory, Lakehead’s third straight, propels the Thunderwolves (4-2-0) into fourth in the OUA West Division.
“I don’t think we’re at where we want to be yet,” McDonald said. “Obviously you want to win every game and give yourself that opportunity. With this three-game winning streak, hopefully we can keep it rolling and start climbing the standings.”
Claw marks: The Thunderwolves improve to 14-1-1 all-time against RMC…Lakehead hits the road next weekend for a three-game road trip with one against Guelph and a pair against Toronto.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. RMC, Wilcox (Bissonnette, Boudreau) 11:08. 2. Lakehead, Wesley-Chisel (Butler) 17:20 pp. 3. Lakehead, McDonald (Masters, Leitch) 18:01. Penalties: Wolframe LAK (interference) 3:30; Savery RMC (closing hand on the puck) 15:21; Michie RMC (cross-checking, roughing) Del Paggio LAK (roughing, roughing after whistle) 19:27; Fryer LAK (cross-checking) 19:46.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Lakehead, Del Paggio (Donnelly) 6:45. 5. RMC, Stagg (Bissonnette) 15:35. Penalties: Bench minor RMC (too many men) 2:09; Boudreau RMC (roughing, misconduct), McDonald LAK (roughing, misconduct) 8:28; Wesley-Chisel LAK (cross-checking); Schutt LAK (cross-checking) 15:42; Kuczek LAK (boarding) 19:50.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 6. Lakehead, Schutt (McDonald) 19:43 en. Penalties: Michie RMC (cross-checking), Gall LAK (roughing) 7:55; O'Brien RMC (tripping) 9:41; Wolframe LAK (interference) 13:04.
