Photo by Cole Breiland
‘Wolves bow out of national championship to #1 ranked Alberta Golden Bears after drumming of UQTR
Lyle Morissette
Sports Editor
If history teaches us anything, and I quite certainly does, then one of its most ominous lessons for ‘Wolves fans is that being the host team for the Cavendish Cup is rarely a good harbinger in regards to the chances of it winning the championship. In fact, prior to this year’s festivities, only 9 out of the 63 hosts have captured the title, that’s roughly a dismal 14.3% of the time. So, which end of that stick did the host ‘Wolves find themselves on this weekend?
Well, first off, that total of two goals from last year’s bereft performance were certainly washed away, becoming a quick afterthought after the ‘Wolves opened up their championship bid with a 7-2 drumming—and elimination—of the UQTR Patriotes on Friday. Their three goals alone in the first period trumped the two goals they scored in their two games combined last year.
Clearly last year’s showing may have been on their mind as the ‘Wolves surged out of the gates with three goals in the first period alone from the likes of Kris Hogg, Dan Speer, and Brock McPherson, and never looked back. Speer added a later goal as did Ryan McDonald, and Matt Caria also potted a pair of his own to close out the ‘Wolves offensive onslaught on the night.
“I thought that tonight our fore check was the key,” said Thunderwolves head coach Joel Scherban. “We knew coming in a few weeks ago that we needed to step up the pressure and I think we did that tonight to generate a lot of offence.”
All three of Lakehead’s first period goals were assisted by fifth-year senior Scott Dobben who also happened to earn the Thunderwolves player of the game honours as well.
Between the pipes, both goaltenders were busy in net as Lakehead’s first year net minder, and fan favourite Alex Dupuis made 35 saves on 37 shots to earn the victory.
But, the early celebration was short lived because on Saturday night history made itself all but to real once again, making an ugly appearance that would eventually smear the ‘Wolves title hopes and add them—for second straight year—to the history books as yet another host who failed to win it all. This time, is was the #1 ranked—and 13 time Cavendish Cup champions—Alberta Golden Bears who stood in their way, breaking many players and fans hearts in the process.
The action started off quickly and frantically for the ‘Wolves who were gifted with an early power-play that defenseman Ryan Baird capitalized on, scoring just 2:58 into the game to give the ‘Wolves the 1-0 lead.
That was all to be written for the ‘Wolves though as the power-play, which had gifted them early on, quickly became their enemy. The Bears tied it up with a 5-on-3 power-play marker of their own to send the first period to recess at 1-1, and then added three more on the man-advantage as the game progressed to the final buzzer.
The Bears would add one more not on the power-play and the ‘Wolves two, both by Brock McPherson, and during a man-advantage, as the Bear’s top power-play unit in the country capitalized on far too many ‘Wolves mistakes on their way to the eventual 5-3 win.
The immediate prize was a birth in the Cup final for Alberta where they faced a Saint Mary’s Huskies squad that played in its first national championship final since 1973.
“We took some undisciplined penalties and those always end up hurting you,” said Scherban.
“After that, our team lost its composure a little and made some bad puck decisions… and things unraveled from there.”
“That’s what ultimately killed us in the end,” added ‘Wolves forward Dan Speer, who along with Shandor Alphonso, Mark Soares, and Scott Dobben, played in their final games donning a ‘Wolves uniform.