THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Thunderwolves inched closer to a playoff berth, with a second straight impressive win over the visiting Windsor Lancers.
The Wolves, who doubled up the Lancers 6-3 on Saturday night, can finish no worse than sixth in the OUA West, and with some help from Windsor in the final week of the OUA men’s hockey season, could finish as high as fourth and have home-ice advantage in the postseason.
Lakehead has guaranteed they’ll finish no worse than sixth, which would put them in an OUA West-only play-in game against the seventh-place Nipissing Lakers at Fort William Gardens on Super Bowl Sunday.
A win in their regular season finale next Friday nets LU no worse than fifth spot and an automatic playoff berth, and a chance to move up to fourth should Windsor lose one of its final two games.
First they had to take care of business against the Lancers, and that they did.
Nicholas DeGrazia scored a pair of goals and made a Gretzky-like cross-crease pass to Griffen Fox for a shorthanded goal at the 12:27 of the third that put the game out of reach once and for all.
“I think it just means we’re heading in the right direction,” said the rookie DeGrazia, who leads the Thunderwolves with a dozen goals on the season.
“We’re kind of heating up, going into the playoffs and that’s kind of where you want to be. We’re just trying to get some home-ice advantage and hopefully make something happen in the playoffs.”
Fox echoed his linemate, saying there’s never a better time to get hot than with the playoffs just around the corner.
“The sweep obviously this weekend was huge,” he said. “We’ve just been preaching to try to peak at the right time.
“Our focus right now is kind of just one step at a time, trying to stay in the present. So next weekend we’ll be focusing on Nipissing, trying to win that game, and we’ll just go from there.”
For the second night in a row, Windsor struck first.
Mason Kohn, with LU defender Ed McNeill draped all over him, took a pass in the slot, spun and fired the puck past Max Wright, who made 25 saves on the night to earn his seventh win of 2023-24.
The lead stood until the final minute of the period, when Liam Whittaker’s shot dribbled past Windsor goaltender Dakota Lund-Cornish, filling in for No. 1 starter Nathan Torchia, serving the second game of a two-game suspension.
Lakehead took the lead for good just 2:15 into the second, when Keighan Gerrie swing around the Windsor net and wrapped the puck in from a sharp angle. DeGrazia unleashed a high, hard bullet late in the period, the power play goal giving the Thunderwolves a 3-1 lead. But the Lancers fought back, Holden Wale matching DeGrazia with a power play goal of his own, launching the puck into the open LU net, with Wright tied up to the side.
The officials considered waving it off for goaltender interference, but instead let it stand, cutting Lakehead’s led to 3-2.
Spencer Blackwell stole back the momentum in the opening minute of the third, picking up the puck along the sideboards, sidestepping a Windsor defender and let loose an unassuming shot from the top of the left circle that eluded Lund Cornish.
DeGrazia added his second of the night two minutes later to give Lakehead a 5-2 edge.
Windsor’s Aaron Shaw and Lakehead’s Fox traded goals in the third to round out the scoring.
“It was a big night for our team,” said Lakehead coach Andrew Wilkins. “We had to find a way to get it done. It was Game 27. We’ve got to continue to get better, especially with the next couple of weeks ahead.”
The veteran coach said he’s not looking beyond the Lakers next Friday night.
“I think at this point it’s one game at a time and not to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Wilkins said.
“Obviously it’s a huge game against Nipissing coming up next weekend.”
Lakehead and the Lakers will tangle on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Gardens.
Claw marks: Attendance was 3,168 … Eric Vanska, formerly of the Kam River Fighting Walleye, backed up Max Wright, filling in for Brock Aiken, who missed the game with an illness, along with forwards Olivier Pouliot and Joe Mack.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Windsor, Kohn (Hinz, McNamara) 5:06. 2. Lakehead, Whitaker (Jette, Fox) 19:12. Penalties: Bench WSR (too many men, served by Hinz) 2:31, Ennis WSR (boarding) 11:53, Wale WSR (cross checking), Blackwell LAK (roughing) 19:12.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Lakehead, Gerrie (Williams) 2:15. 4. Lakehead, DeGrazia 11 (Fox, Jette) 16:10 pp. 5. Windsor, Wale (Kohn) 18:58 pp. Penalties: Durham WSR (boarding), Jette LAK (cross checking) 4:43, Holden WSR (boarding, unsportsmanlike conduct) 12:16, McNamara WSR (roughing) 14:26; Blackwell LAK (high sticking double minor) 15:11, Schives WSR (cross checking) 16:10, Smith LAK (slashing) 17:19.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 6. Lakehead, Blackwell 5 (unassisted) 0:53. 7. Lakehead, DeGrazia (Gerrie, McNeill) 2:49 pp. 8. Windsor, Shaw, (McNamara, Durham) 5:38. 9. Lakehead, Fox (DeGrazia) 12:27 sh. Penalties: Kohn WSR (cross checking) 1:45, Whittaker LAK (hooking) 11:12,
GAME DATA – SOG – Windsor 7-7-14-28, Lakehead 19-10-11-40; Power plays (goals-chances) – Windsor (1-4), Lakehead (2-7); Goaltenders – Windsor: Dakota Lund-Cornish, Lakehead: Max Wright; A: 3,168.
