ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – A season of promise did not get off to the start the Lakehead Thunderwolves were seeking.
The Brock Badgers scored the game’s first four goals on Friday night and went on to down the visiting Thunderwolves 5-2 to kick off the OUA men’s hockey season at Canada Games Park in St. Catharines.
Tyler Burnie and Matthew Riva staked the Badgers to a 2-0 lead after one period, with Ethan Sims making it 3-0 with the lone goal of the second, beating Max Wright at the 12:42 mark of the opening stanza.
Justin Brack added to the Brock lead five minutes into the third before Joe Mack finally got the Thunderwolves on the board, his first of the season coming at 5:24, 38 seconds after Brack’s tally.
Ben Badalamenti cut into the Badgers lead with 5:40 to go in regulation, but Burnie potted his second of the night into the empty net to seal the win for Brock.
Wright made 26 stops between the pipes for Lakehead, while his counterpart, Connor Ungar, made good on 19 of 21 Thunderwolves attempts. Lakehead was 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Badgers made good on their only man advantage of the night.
The two teams will try it again on Saturday night.
Lakehead returns home next Friday to open their home schedule at Fort William Gardens when the Waterloo Warriors come to town.
