Thunderwolves weekend recap – Nov 11-13

This weekend saw a few tough finishes for the Thunderwolves Athletics pack as they faced off against a number of tough opponents. Our men’s hockey team and both basketball teams defended our territory here in Thunder Bay, while volleyball had a bye weekend.

 

Men’s Hockey

The finished the weekend 1-2m including a tough Thursday night loss in which a spirited comeback fell just short.

Facing the Ryerson Rams in Fort William Gardens, the Thunderwolves played from behind throughout Thursday’s match, but cut a two-point deficit down to one in the third before Ryerson’s goalie staved off a number of shots, including a late man advantage with Lakehead’s goalie pulled.

“I thought we started a little slow,” Thunderwolves coach Andrew Wilkins said. “But we came out with different approach for the 2^nd and 3^rd periods, generating opportunities and controlling the game.”

Friday night’s affair saw a favourable turn for the home team, with Ryerson never leading and the Wolves emerging with a 2-1 win.

“It was a big win,” Wilkins said. “Brock Aiken was outstanding giving us a chance to win. We generated quality chances and played our most complete game of the year.”

LU was unable to keep the momentum rolling into Saturday, however, as Ryerson buried a number of pucks to close the weekend with a 5-2 win.

“We were a little flat to start the last game, going down 2-0 early,” Wilkins said. “We generated opportunities and put multiple positive shifts together throughout the game, but were unable to battle back against a good Ryerson team.”

Lakehead remains home next weekend when they will host the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday, November 19^th, and Saturday, November 20^th.

The Thunderwolves currently sit at 2-4 (1-4-1), while the Varsity Blues have yet to win a game.

Lakehead’s Spencer Blackwell currently leads the team in points with five, while Tyler Ho sits second with four, including a team-best three goals.

 

Women’s Basketball

It was a rough weekend for the Thunderwolves women’s basketball team, as they dropped two straight to the #7 nationally-ranked Brock Badgers.

“I thought our ladies fought hard,” Thunderwolves head coach Jon Kreiner said.

Lakehead pushed the Badgers early, stunning the visiting squad with quick action and aggressive play. The Thunderwolves briefly held control of the scoring early despite the absence of lead guard Sofia Lluch before Brock was able to finish the first quarter of Friday’s game up 18-16. They ultimately pulled away, with Lakehead losing 61-44.

“Playing without Sofia and with some injuries was a challenge,” Kreiner said. “We played hard, but our second and thirds quarters continue to be our Achilles heel with respect to scoring.”

Despite shooting nearly 40% from the floor in the first and fourth quarters, the Thunderwolves shot a combined 3-24 in the middle frames.

“The ball moved ok,” Kreiner said, “but we need to establish our tempo and pace earlier and then make better adjustments as the game goes along. I felt we battled well on the defensive end.”

The second night saw the Badgers put things away quickly, as the injury-riddled Thunderwolves limped to a 70-50 finish.

Lakehead’s women’s basketball team currently sits 0-4 in regular season play after having faced two of the strongest teams in the division. The Thunderwolves travel to Waterloo next weekend where they will face the currently-winless Laurier Golden Hawks.

The women’s basketball team returns to Thunder Bay the following weekend when they will host the Western Mustangs. Those games tip at 6:00pm on both Friday, November 26^th, and on Saturday, November 27^th.

 

Men’s Basketball

The Thunderwolves men’s basketball team faced a similarly formidable team in the #5 nationally-ranked Brock Badgers.

Friday night’s run saw the Thunderwolves push out to an early lead, including the largest lead of the game early in the second quarter. The Badgers would claw their way back late in the second quarter, however, taking a 45-37 lead into the break. The two squads traded buckets in bunches in the second half with the game coming down to possession with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Following late free throws, Brock emerged victorious, 91-85.

“We had a few chances to really make a run but made a few undisciplined mistakes defensively that Brock made us pay on,” Thunderwolves head coach Ryan Thomson said. “When you’re playing a veteran team, they’re going to capitalize on mistakes. We also fouled too much—allowing Brock 40 free-throw attempts is too many. Offensively we did some good things and there were plenty of positives to build on, but we need to find ways to be consistent in our approach for 40 minutes.”

Lakehead was led by Michael Okafor’s 22 points and 6 rebounds, while Dylan Morrison added 16 and 4 of his own (plus two blocks, including a vicious spike off the backboard). Jared Kreiner tossed in a flurry of threes late, finishing with 10 points.

The rematch saw the Thunderwolves stumble from the tip, giving the Badgers their largest lead of the game (17) in the second quarter. Lakehead fought back however, and took a one-point lead into the half.

“After a slow start we battled back in the second quarter,” Thomson said.

The Badgers stormed out in the second half and controlled the action, ultimately winning 79-64 and leaving Lakehead with a 2-0 sweep.

“To Brock’s credit they really stifled our offense in the second half,” Thomson said. “The ball wasn’t moving to thesecond or third side as much as it needed to, and when we made mistakes defensively Brock capitalized and made timely shots. We were outrebounded all weekend and a few of those second chance opportunities is what made the difference ultimately in both games.”

Michael Okafor again led the Thunderwolves with 17 points and five rebounds, while Eric Gonzalez and Dylan Morrison grabbed eight boards a piece. Morrison once again finished with a pair of highlight defensive swats at the rim, and Alston Harris chipped in 14 points.

Lakehead’s men’s basketball team currently sits 1-3 in regular season play after having faced the top two teams in the division. The Thunderwolves travel to Waterloo next weekend where they will face the currently-winless Laurier Golden Hawks.

The men’s basketball team returns to Thunder Bay the following weekend when they will host the Western Mustangs. Those games tip at 6:00pm on both Friday, November 26^th, and on Saturday, November 27^th.