THUNDER BAY – The freshman frenzy struck when the Lakehead Thunderwolves needed it most.
Tied 1-1 after two periods at Fort William Gardens, rookies Pouliot and Keighan Gerrie scored goals 20 seconds apart in the opening minute of the third period on Saturday night, sparking a five-goal final stanza that led to a thrilling 6-3, series-ending win over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and propelled the Thunderwolves into the OUA West final against the Windsor Lancers.
Pouliot, for good measure, added two more goals in the period, completing the hat trick with LU down a body, crashing into Toronto goaltender Jett Alexander as the puck bounced past him to give his team a 5-2 lead midway through the third.
“Obviously we had play our (best) period of the year, and I think that’s what we did, said Pouliot, who matched his first-year regular-season total with the three-goal outburst.
“It was a nice period for everyone. The fans were nervous and we were nervous in the room. That’s a good team on the other side and we had to finish it and just find a way to win the game.”
Pouliot, who spent parts of two seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, said it was great to contribute to the Game 3 win, the Thunderwolves taking the series 2-1.
Sometimes a little luck comes into play, he added.
“My last goal, I didn’t even know it went in, to be honest. I just try to play my game and that works. I fell down and didn’t see it go in. The crowd was cheering, I thought it was a penalty or something. I turned and saw Josh (Van Unen) coming in and I looked around and saw the puck in the net,” Pouliot said.
Coach Andrew Wilkins said despite taking more than 36 minutes to score on Alexander, Van Unen ending his shutout bid on the power play late in the second, the team knew there was still plenty of time in a one-goal game to get the job done.
“In the third period, our guys came out strong, stuck to what we wanted to do and got rewarded,” Wilkins said.
He wasn’t surprised it was the rookies that got the job done.
“That’s been a big story of our season. We’re not counting on a couple of guys. We’ve got four lines of guys who can score. They stepped up big tonight,” Wilkins said.
The Varsity Blues, stunned at finding themselves down 3-1 a minute into the third, faced the reality of a three-goal deficit at the 4:08 mark of the period, when Pouliot buried his second of the period.
Ryan Barbosa got one back on the power play just over three minutes later, but Pouliot made it 5-2 at 9:40. Toronto struck again, Cole Purboo slamming it past Max Wright in the LU net with 6:23 to go in regulation, the goal coming with the Varsity Blues shorthanded.
The penalties kept coming for Toronto and despite pulling Alexander, they couldn’t catch up. Griffen Fox added an empty netter at 18:28 to seal the win.
Wright made 23 saves to earn the win, his second of the series. Alexander was good on 35 of 40 shots he faced.
Lakehead will open the OUA final on the road in Windsor, with Game 2 on Friday night at the Gardens and Game 3, if necessary, going on Saturday. A win in their next series would earn LU its first trip to nationals since 2010 adn a chance at a Queen's Cup win on home ice. A loss would mean a one-and-done bronze medal game at home against the loser of the OUA East final for the league's third spot in Charlottetown, host of this year's University Cup.
Claw marks:Pouliot's hat trick was the fifth in LU playoff history. Joel Scherban had two, with Jeff Richards and Mike Hammond recording one apiece.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Toronto, Grima (Guy) 4:44. Penalties: Potts TOR (high sticking) 1:35, Dirven TOR (boarding) 12:00, Bench Minor LAK (too man men, served by Ho) 16:58, Blackwell LAK (cross checking) 19:49.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Lakehead, Van Unen (Ho, Pouliot) 16:28 pp. Penalties: Pouliot LAK (tripping) 7:25, P. Reeves TOR (interference) 11:10, Bench Minor TOR (too many men) 16:58.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Lakehead, Pouliot 1 (Whitaker) 0:32. 4. Lakehead, Gerrie 2 (G. Fox, Van Den Hurk) 0:52 pp. 5. Lakehead, Pouliot 2 (Van Unen) 4:08. 6. Toronto, Barbosa 1 (Robinson) 7:21 pp. 7. Lakehead, Pouliot (unassisted) 9:40 sh. 8. Toronto, Purboo 4 (unassisted) 13:37 sh. 9. Lakehead, Fox 1 (unassisted) 18:28 pp. Penalties: Hanna TOR (tripping) 0:44, Dempster LAK (slashing) 6:27, G. Fox LAK (high sticking) 7:47, Driven TOR (holding) 12:35, Barbosa TOR (high sticking double minor) 13:57, Potts TOR (roughing) 18:28.
GAME DATA – SOG – Toronto 11-7-8-26, Lakehead 14-12-15-41; Power plays (goals-chances) – Toronto (1-5), Lakehead (2-9); Goaltenders – Toronto: Jett Alexander, Lakehead: Max Wright; A: 2,789.
