THUNDER BAY – Nikolas Campbell hasn’t had a lot of chances with the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
The former Thunder Bay North Stars forward had played in just three regular-season contests with the Wolves prior to Saturday night.
Campbell, who scored 17 goals in 25 games with the Stars in 2022-23, adding 15 more in 19 playoff games, had yet to score at the OUA level.
That changed in game No. 4.
The 22-year-old slammed the puck past Carleton Ravens goaltender to give LU a 2-0 lead at 15:22 of the first and then in the third, 47 seconds after Alex Johnston cut the Thunderwolves lead to 3-1, he did it again.
It’s great to have the goal-scoring touch back, the sophomore Campbell said.
“I feel pretty great,” he said. “It’s a team effort. My teammates helped me a lot, put me in a good position to succeed. I’m grateful to my teammates and just happy that we got the win.”
Campbell recognizes getting in the lineup is a chance to prove himself.
“It’s definitely tough. You never want to be sitting out, but it’s all part of the process. You’ve always got to stay confident in yourself and believe in yourself and that’s what I try to do,” Campbell said.
“It felt great. It was really fun to play out here and get a goal for the guys.”
Still, he was aware of how important that second goal was.
Two-goal leads are no sure thing in hockey, especially with 12 minutes on the clock.
“That was a huge goal for the team. It was a perfect shot by Noah (Massie) and I just got a stick on it and it went in the net and it kind of worked out,” Campbell said.
Thunderwolves coach Andrew Wilkins, his team improving to 3-1-1 with the 5-1 triumph, said it’s always good to see a guy like Campbell make the most of an opportunity.
“Soupy has worked really hard. He had minimal opportunities last year. He’s a really good kid, very popular with his teammates. He deserves to play and I thought tonight was a strong case for that. He was exceptional,” Wilkins said.
It was a dominant performance from start to finish, the Wolves outshooting their Ottawa-based opponents 54-23, to the delight of the 2,643 in attendance at Fort William Gardens.
Rookie blue-liner Luca Fasciano got the ball rolling for Lakehead, grabbing a loose puck in the slot and firing a wrist shot past Carleton goaltender Tye Austin at 2:51 of the opening period.
Campbell doubled the lead with 4:38 to go in the period and Justin Paul added to the lead at 18:27 of the second, grabbing a juicy rebound seconds after Carleton returned to full strength and blasting it home.
Johnston snapped Christian Cicigoi’s shutout bid eight minutes into the third, the LU goaltender stopping 22 of 23 shots directed his way on the night.
Campbell and Nick DeGrazia, from a sharp angle, rounded out the scoring for Lakehead, who will host Toronto Metropolitan for a pair next weekend at the Gardens.
“I thought our guys clicked and were creating offensive chances. I thought our D was good. I thought (Cicigoi) was very solid when he needed to be. But honestly, I still think we can be better,” Wilkins said.
“I think at times we were sloppy, but we had guys who had really good efforts and put us in position to create offence and have a really good night.”
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, Fasciano 3 (N. Massie) 2:51. 2. Lakehead, Campbell 1 (D. Massie) 15:22. Penalties: Kaddoura CAR (cross checking) 9:04.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Lakehead, Paul 4 (D. Massie, Murphy) 18:27. Penalties: Castleman CAR (cross checking) 1:32, Pouliot LAK (hooking) 6:59, Castleman CAR (slashing) 8:49, Collins CAR (cross checking), Crane LAK, L. Whittaker (roughing) 12:13, Seed CAR (roughing) 16:34.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Carleton, Johnston 2 (Amanatidis, Allan) 7:54. 5. Lakehead, Campbell 2 (D. Massie, Fasciano) 8:41. 6. Lakehead, DeGrazia 2 (Van Unen, Pouliot) 14:18 pp. Penalties: Belton CAR (roughing) 9:07, Bedard CAR (interference) 12:24, Hogue CAR (slashing) 13:52, Amanatidis CAR, R. Whittaker LAK (roughing) 15:23.
GAME DATA – SOG – Carleton 8-7-8-23, Lakehead 15-15-24-54; Power plays (goals-chances) – Carleton (0-1), Lakehead (1-5); Goaltenders – Carleton: Tye Austin, Lakehead: Christian Cicigoi; A: 2,645.
