Wolves Sweep Weekend Against Nipissing
#LSN_Sports #LSN_Thunderwolves Next weekend on the road Bemidji State
THUNDER BAY, ONTAIRO September 29, 2018 (LSN) The Lakehead Thunderwolves put on a dominating performance for the 2,026 fans at the Fort William Gardens on Saturday night, outshooting Nipissing 73-27 enroute to a 6-1 victory over the Lakers.
After a scoreless first period in which the Wolves fired 28 shots on Lakers’ goalie Taylor Joseph, Daniel McKitrick scored two goals just 11 seconds apart early in the second to stake Lakehead to a 2-0 lead.
Jordan King added another when he fired the puck past Joseph after it caromed off the back glass and landed in the slot.
Nipissing’s Colby Tower beat Lakehead goalie Devin Green at the 15:40 mark, but Cooper Leitch scored with only 12 second left in the period to give the Wolves a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Brennen Dubchak put Lakehead up 5-1 with a power play goal at 11:08 of the third, and Josh Laframboise rounded out the scoring with a hard wrister that sailed past Joseph’s glove with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
On the night, Lakehead was 1-for-8 on the power play, while Nipissing went 0-for-4.
The Molson Three Stars of the game were:
1 Daniel McKitrick, Lakehead
2 Cooper Leitch, Lakehead
3 Taylor Joseph, Nipissing
Friday night, Led by Daniel Del Paggio’s natural hat trick, the Lakehead Thunderwolves defeated the Nipissing Lakers 5-2 in front of 1,789 fans at the Fort William Gardens on Friday night.
Del Paggio notched his first goal just 5:45 into the game with a blast that tipped off the glove of Lakers’ goalie Jeremy Pominville and into the net, with Scott Gall assisting. He added a second marker from the edge of crease with 3:05 left in the opening period, with the helper going to Jordan Larson.
Nipissing took advantage of a power play opportunity early in the middle stanza when Zach Moody finished off an odd-man rush by beating Wolves’ netminder Nic Renyard high on the blocker side.
Del Paggio got his third goal of the night less than two minutes later by outwaiting Pominville and going top shelf to restore Lakehead’s two-goal cushion.
Jordan King extended the Wolves’ lead 3:42 into the final frame when he knocked home a loose puck after a goalmouth scramble, with the assists going to Gall and Daniel McKitrick.
Nipissing’s Gael Lubwele narrowed the gap to 4-2 when he fired a hard shot from the face-off circle that eluded Renyard low on the glove side at 11:11.
The Lakers pulled Pominville for an extra attacker with less than two minutes left on the clock, but Lakehead’s Sam Schutt squashed Nipissing’s comeback bid with a shot from behind his own blue line that went straight into the empty cage.
For the night, the Thunderwolves were 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Lakers went 1-for-5.
Total shots on goal in the game were 50-23 in Lakehead’s favor.
The Molson Three Stars of the game were:
- Daniel Del Paggio, Lakehead
- Scott Gall, Lakehead
- Nic Renyard, Lakehead
Wolves on the Road Next Weekend
The Wolves will face a tougher test when they head south to take on the Bemidji State Beavers in their first road test of the season next Saturday, with the opening face-off set for 6:07 pm CDT.
By: John Payetta
Manager of Operations and Communications
Lakehead University Thunderwolves Hockey