Jeff Bosch is back and the Lakehead Thunderwolves didn’t skip a beat Saturday night.
The veteran goalie, sidelined the entire regular season with a non-conference play knee injury suffered last month against the University of Minnesota-Duluth, made his season debut a winning one, stopping 20 shots to help the Wolves conquer the Concordia Stingers 3-1.
For Bosch, it was a chance to shake the rust off.
“Once I got going and made my first save, adrenalin takes over and you forget you had an injury. I felt pretty good and the guys in front of me were awesome tonight,” said Bosch, sidelined for the first nine games of the OUA season.
“I think I only had 21, 22 shots against, which was great. It made my workload a little less tonight.”
Coach Bill McDonald, who praised rookie Justin McDonald for stepping in and winning eight of nine starts while Bosch was on the mend, said he was determined to get his No. 1 goalie some playing time to build up his confidence as the meat of the Thunderwolves schedule approaches.
“It’s hard when you’re out there, but I had to put him in. He has to get some games and he obviously handled it with flying colours. Right off the bat there they got a couple of quality chances in the first period and he played really well,” Bill McDonald said.
“If he can get back to playing how he did in the pre-season, I really like him as a goalie. But let’s not forget the guy that was in there before him, McDonald. The silver lining is he’s gained a lot of experience.”
Bosch guessed his knee is probably about 80 per cent at this stage, but added he’s been working hard to get back to active duty.
It wasn’t easy watching his teammates on the ice, despite their hot start.
“I did as much as I could to get back as soon as I could and my knee was just staying where it was and wasn’t getting better,” Bosch said. “Finally tonight it was such a good feeling to get in there and actually contribute to this team.”
For LU (9-1-0) it was a seventh straight win in OUA play, the team’s final home game before the Christmas break, and maintained a share of top spot in the OUA West with WIndsor, who downed UQTR 5-3 on Saturday night.
Mitch Fillman, with his first of the season, Jake Carrick, while falling and Cody Alcock, with his third in two nights and team-leading ninth of the season, scored for the Thunderwolves.
George Lovatsis had the lone goal for the Stingers (2-5-3), who dressed third-string goalie Antoine Marchand as a skater.
The game could prove costly for the Wolves heading forward, at least in the opener next weekend on the road in Oshawa.
Late in the third fourth-year forward Trevor Gamache tangled with Stingers defenceman Adam-Nugent Hopkins, a fight that brought the Fort William Gardens crowd of 2,686 to its feet. Both players were ejected and face at least a one-game suspension.
“If we were a little farther on in the schedule … we’d probably have to use our heads a little bit more. He’s a pretty good player for us,” Bill McDonald said.
Claw marks: Scratches for Lakehead included Andrew Tessier, James DeLory, Jason Grecica, Brennan Menard, Carson Dubchak and Keith Grondin ... Lakehead's next home games are Dec. 27 and 28, non-conference action against Laurentian University.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, Fillman 1 (Wilkins, Gilbert) 0:54. 2. Lakehead, Carrick 4 (Ainsworth, Hammond) 4:12. 3. Concordia, Lovatsis 2 (O’Neil, Lambke) 14:26 pp. Penalties: Carrick LAK (roughing) 13:20, Belevdere CON (high sticking) 18:12, Marchand CON (roughing) 18:53.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Lakehead, Alcock 9 (M. Quesnele, Gamache) 14:22. Penalties: Alcock LAK (slashing, unsportsmanlike conduct) 0:19, Keca CON, Carrick LAK (roughing) 5:25, Belvedere CON (checking from behind, misconduct, served by Vinatier) 6:56, Gamache LAK (unsportsmanlike conduct), Keca CON (charging) 10:54, Bruyere LAK (checking to the head, misconduct, served by Thompson) 14:54, Nobili CON (hooking) 18:51.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: None. Penalties: M. Quesnele LAK (roughing), Bourret CON (roughing) Bernard CON (roughing) 6:53, Nugent-Hopkins CON, Gamache LAK (fighting major, game misconduct) 8:27, Hammond LAK (high sticking) 16:31, Dubois CON (holding) 18:54.
GAME DATA – SOG – Concordia 7-7-8-22, Lakehead 9-14-6-29; Power plays (goals-chances) – Concordia (1-4), Lakehead (0-4); Goaltenders – Concordia: Antonio Mastropietro, Lakehead: Jeff Bosch; A: 2,686.
