THUNDER BAY – The No. 2 team in the nation was the No. 1 team on the ice on Friday night at Fort William Gardens.
But just barely.
The University of Quebec Trois Rivieres Patriotes rolled into Thunder Bay, winners of seven of their previous eight games, got a pair of third-period tallies by Simon Lafrance – who finished with three on the night, and a natural hat trick at that – and went on to double up the Lakehead Thunderwolves 6-3 in front of 2,733 fans at Fort William Gardens.
UQTR, the second-highest scoring team in the league, scored the final five goals of the night to improve to 11-4-0 on the season, but didn't take the lead until 4:32 into the final frame.
“I think we were not happy about our first two periods. We missed some chances and we didn’t play as good as we wanted in the d-zone. But we bounced back in the third period and I think that’s positive for our young group,” Lafrance said.
Lafrance now leads the OUA with 18 goals, five more than Queens forward Dalton Duhart, who leads all scorers with 34 points.
“It’s a nice one for me,” said the fourth-year forward, a four-year veteran of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and earned an invite to the Colorado Avalanche development camp after scoring 16 goals in 23 games last season.
“But it’s a team effort. My first goal I had a good play on a two-on-one. My second one tonight was a nice breakout by (Kaylen) Gauthier and (Conor) Frenette gave it to me. And on the third one I just had a tap-in from (Jordan) Lepage.”
Twice the Thunderwolves held two-goal advantages, the first when Spencer Blackwell lit the lamp behind Patriotes goaltender Alexis Gravel, the second when Josh Van Unen answered Loris Rafanomezantsoa’s late second-period goal that snapped Max Wright’s shutout bid, scoring 19 seconds later to give Lakehead a 3-1 lead.
“It’s a good learning lesson for our team,” said LU coach Andrew Wilkins.
“I thought we responded really well, executed what we wanted to execute. The guys were ready to go to make a difference against a really good team. There were a couple of errors in the second period that led to goals against. We just wanted to fight through it, but obviously they’re a very good offence and if you give them an opportunity, they’re going to score. They showed that tonight.”
The Patriotes proved just a little too powerful when it mattered most, using their speed to create odd-man rushes that turned the tide and sent the T-Wolves to a second straight defeat at the hands of an OUA East opponent.
Olivier Pouliot had the game’s opening goal for Lakehead, picking the puck up along the boards and outracing a UQTR defender, going short side on Gravel, a 2018 sixth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Lakehead goaltender Max Wright, subbing in for injured Christian Cicigoi, was solid in nets for the first two periods, but gave up four goals on 15 shots in the third as the Patriotes took the lead and pulled away for good.
Cicigoi is not expected back before the Christmas break.
Lakehead welcomes the McGill Redbirds to the Gardens on Saturday night, their final home game before the Christmas break. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
Claw marks: Only one minor penalty was assessed in the game, a roughing call on UQTR's Edouard Cournoyer.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Lakehead, Pouliot 4 (Smith, McNeill) 5:27. Penalties: None.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Lakehead, Blackwell 2 (Massie) 7:47. 3. UQTR, Rafanomezantsoa 2 (Milot-Ouellet) 1617. 4. Lakehead, Van Unen 2 (unassisted) 16:36. 5. UQTR, Lafrance 16 (Frenette) 17:45. Penalties: Cournoyer UQT (roughing) 7:57.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 6. UQTR, Lafrance 17 (Frenette, Gauthier) 3:24. 7. UQTR, Lafrance 18 (LePage, Beaudoin) 4:32. 8. UQTR, Lepage (Cournoyer, Munroe-Boucher) 10:08. 9, UQTR, Munroe-Boucher (Lepage) 15 :06. Penalties: None.
GAME DATA – SOG – UQTR 10-12-15-37, Lakehead 11-12-5-28; Power plays (goals-chances) – UQTR (0-0), Lakehead (0-1); Goaltenders – UQTR: Alexis Gravel, Lakehead: Max Wright; A: 2,733.
