Trevor Gamache has found a new role with the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
After spending most of last season in a grinder-type, third- and fourth-line role, the second year forward was paired with scorers Matt Caria and Ryan McDonald on Friday night to kick off the 2011-12 OUA regular season.
Gamache, a former Superior International Junior Hockey League scoring champion, scored twice and should have had a third. But it wasn’t enough to help the Wolves secure the win against the defending University Cup finalist McGill Redmen and Nicolas Therrien, whose blast from the point beat LU netminder Alex Dupuis and gave McGill a 4-3 triumph.
Gamache, though disappointed at not pushing his team into the win column, was happy with the way he’s been clicking with his new line-mates.
“It’s a tough loss. We played strong for 40 minutes, but unfortunately the game is 60 minutes long,” said Gamache, a Longlac native who collected 80 points with the Fort William North Stars in 2009-10, his final year of junior.
“We kind of let them free in the second period. But we’ve got a lot of positives coming out of this game. These guys are supposed to be one of the top teams in Canada, so we’re ready to go.”
As for his individual success, the lanky sophomore gave the credit to Caria and McDonald for creating the opportunities that allowed him to notch his first two goals of the season.
“We played great. Those guys work magic with the puck and I was just lucky to get the puck in the slot. I should have had a couple more at the end, but there’s nothing I could do about it.”
Making the adjustment from scorer to grinder to scorer again has its pitfalls, but Gamache isn’t thinking too far ahead or that a two-goal effort means he’s staying on the top line.
“I’ll do whatever the coaches ask me to do. I’m a good two-way player. So if he asks me to play a defensive role and get in their top line’s face, I’ll do that. But at the same time I can step in and contribute offensively. I was happy to help the team out tonight.”
Lakehead coach Joel Scherban cautioned that it’s only one game, though he liked what he saw.
“We’ve been tinkering with our lines almost every game, and I thought he looked great playing with Caria and McDonald tonight. I thought the line as a whole worked hard and generated a lot of opportunities. Hopefully Trevor’s able to keep that up,” Scherban said.
Up 2-0 early, on first period goals by Gamache and McDonald, the second period proved to be a disaster for the Thunderwolves, who watched their two-goal lead dissipate and ultimately turn into a 3-2 deficit.
McGill’s Marc-Olivier Vachon pulled the Redmen within a goal at 4:31 of the second, then Maxime Langelier-Parent, with McGill two-men down, blew past LU sophomore defenceman Mike Quesnele, then fooled goalie Alex Dupuis with a couple of nifty moves and tied the score 2-2.
“He’s got explosive speed and he can score goals like that. It was a timely goal for sure for us,” said McGill coach Kelly Nobes, a familiar face at Fort William Gardens from his time behind the bench at Wilfrid Laurier.
“I didn’t think our power play was very good tonight (they were 0-9). At times we created some opportunities, but to get a goal like that on the penalty kill can really help.”
Who else but Alexandre Picard-Hooper would complete the comeback and give McGill the lead? The leading scorer in Canada last season, the Redmen forward beat Dupuis on a backhander on a 2-on-1.
Gamache had a great chance to tie the score in the third, but couldn’t lift a backhander of his own over Morin’s outstretched glove.
He made up for it at 9:24 of the third, knotting the score 3-3, though even ground was short-lived. Nicolas Therrien blasted a shot from the point that eluded Dupuis, possibly on a tip, for the winner, the goal coming at 14:09.
Claw marks: Mitch Fillman and Jake Carrick were out with league-imposed suspensions ... Other scratches for the Wolves were Jason Grecica, Victor Anilane and Josh Mrakic ... Mitch Maunu set Andrew Wilkins free on a breakaway in the second, but the team’s co-captain couldn’t convert.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, Gamache 1 (McDonald, Caria) 0:55. 2. Lakehead, McDonald 1 (Caria, Sagert) 18:52 pp. Penalties: Wilkins LAK (interference) 1:37, Baljo LAK (check to the head, misconduct, served by Hammond) 6:33, Gamache LAK, Verreault-Paul MCG (roughing) 8:41, Quesnele LAK, Langelier-Parent MCG (misconducts) 9:20, Menard LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 15:06, Verreault-Paul MCG (goaltender interference) 17:56, Levesque MCG (hooking) 18:22.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. McGill, Vachon 1 (unassisted) 4:31. 4. McGill, Maxime Langelier-Parent 1 (unassisted) 12:43 sh. 5. McGill, Picard-Hooper 1 (Longpre-Poirier, Wright) 17:51. Penalties: Welsh, LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct) 4:31. Gamache LAK (high sticking double minor) 8:13, McDonald LAK (slashing) 9:39, Picard-Hooper (holding the stick) 10:03, Verreault-Paul MCG (tripping) 12:01, Picard-Hooper (high sticking double minor) 12:23.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 6. Lakehead, Gamache 2 (Caria) 9:24. 6. McGill Therrien 1 (Biniek, Dorion) 14:09. Penalties: Caria LAK (butt ending double minor) 0:09, Verreault-Paul MCG (slashing) 1:16
GAME DATA – SOG – McGill 15-14-2-31, Lakehead 8-5-17-30; Power plays (goals-chances) – McGill (0-9) Lakehead (1-7); Goaltenders – McGill: Hubert Morin, Lakehead: Alex Dupuis; A: 2,868.
