THUNDER BAY – Playing a team three times in a row is never easy.
After night one, teams start to adjust, and by the time the final game arrives, there aren’t a lot of surprises left in any coach’s bag of tricks.
On the one hand, Justin Paul and the Lakehead Thunderwolves men’s hockey team have a pretty good handle on the Nipissing Lakers, a team they beat 2-1 this past Saturday on the road and will welcome to Fort William Gardens this weekend for games on Friday and Saturday night.
On the other, the Lakers have figured out a few things too, and after dropping the first game of the back-to-back-to-back series, will assuredly make a few changes in their approach to the games.
Despite a setback against the Toronto Metropolitan Bold two weekends ago at home, the T-Wolves are in a pretty good place, tied for fifth in the OUA West with a 4-3-1 record, but with games in hand over three of the four teams in front of them.
Win both this weekend and it’s not out of the realm of possibility they’ll be alone in second, with help from other teams, of course.
Paul, the fifth-year senior who leads the team with five goals and eight points, and was named the team’s player of the month for October, said the Wolves know what to expect when the Lakers make the trek from North Bay.
“They’re a sound team. They manage the puck pretty well. They get the puck out of the zone as quick as they can, try to fight you that way and make you come back in the zone to keep them hemmed in,” Paul said.
“They’ve got good goaltending. Obviously we only scored two goals, but we had a lot of chances and we think there is a lot of opportunity to build on that. And we just want to be strong in our own end and keep them from capitalizing on their opportunities, because we think this is a matchup where we think we can fill the net if we do the right things.”
Lakehead coach Andrew Wilkins said the team learned plenty on the road, most important of all: consistency.
“I thought there were opportunities for us to add on to a lead. Give credit to them, they played good as well. As games are ending, I think there are parts we can improve on. And obviously, when you see a team three times in a row, you don’t want to get too caught up in what they’re doing, because everyone is going to be making adjustments. You’ve just got to be ready for their best,” Wilkins said.
“But we know for us to win, we’re just going to have to play really good. If we show up and we worry about our style of play and getting to that as quickly as we can, we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”
Game time both nights is 7 p.m.
