March 11, 2006
WOLVES OVERWHELM MCGILL 4-0 TO TAKE QUEEN'S CUP
THUNDER BAY - The Lakehead Thunderwolves have never lost a playoff game on home ice. Lakehead kept their perfect post-season record intact in the most important game in the five-year history of the program. Fifth-year Wolves captain Joel Scherban scored a goal and added two assists in the final home game of his illustrious career and goaltender Grant McCune stopped all 26 shots he faced to lead Lakehead to its first ever Queen's Cup with a shocking 4-0 shutout victory over the No. 2 McGill Redmen in the Ontario University Athletics championship finale Saturday.
Scherban was humbled by the experience, hoisting the Cup above his head as the standing-room only crowd at the Fort William Gardens roared in support.
"I can't even put it into words," said Scherban, who earned the Jack Kennedy Memorial Trophy as the Queen's Cup MVP to cap an incredible OUA career. "I've thought about it, winning a championship in my last game ever in Thunder Bay. It's just amazing right now."
McGill entered the playoffs having set a CIS record for team goals against, allowing just 29 goals all season but the usually air-tight Redmen defence, backstopped by star goaltender Mathieu Poitras, couldn't control an inspired Lakehead lineup. The Wolves scored three power-play goals in a six-minute, 25-second span in the second period to build a massive lead they would never relinquish. Lakehead is 13-0 lifetime in the playoffs at the home rink.
Scherban, Mike Jacobsen, Tobias Whelan and Matt Jacques scored for the Wolves, who go to Nationals in Edmonton later in the month with a 7-2 record in the 2006 post-season. Scherban, the Wolves all-time leading scorer and a five-time first-team OUA all-star, assisted on second-period markers by Jacobsen and Jacques and added his own goal at 9:31 of the frame. The win was a fitting end to Scherban's tenure at Lakehead, a stint he experienced with fellow fifth-year players McCune and defenceman Erik Lodge.
"I'm so happy for those guys, particularly Joel, Erik and Grant," said Lakehead head coach Pete Belliveau. "Those guys have a put of lot of sweat and effort in the last five years here, there's no doubt about it."
McCune got the call in net after backing up Chris Whitley in all three games of the semi-final round against the Laurier Golden Hawks and he came up with a timely performance. The Sherwood Park, AB native was steady in the third, while also stopping 11 shots in the wild second period alone.
"It feels phenomenal," said McCune. "I've never really won anything in my life. I know this isn't the final destination but it's definitely a step, so I'll take it."
"Over his five years, I can't even count how many great performances he's had, how many big wins he's had," Scherban said of McCune. "It's a statement of the kind of character he has and the commitment he has to the team."
McCune's best save of the night came when he cleared McGill centre Sam Bloom's attempt on the goal-line with his skate early in the second period. It proved to be a huge one as Lakehead made it 2-0 moments later when Jacobsen scored with a wrist shot from the high slot on a Wolves power play. McGill head coach Martin Raymond was livid with the goal, arguing that Redmen forward Shawn Shewchuk was interfered with, allowing Jacobsen to skate free into an open area an unleash the shot.
"We knew the refereeing was going to be tough on us here," said Raymond. "You just crossed your fingers that nothing major is not called and that was definitely a major play. It wound up putting us behind the eight ball, no doubt about that."
The Redmen should have got one back on their own man advantage after that but left winger Charles Gauthier rang one of the post with the net wide open as McCune was caught out of position. That miss was also costly as Scherban then gave the Wolves a surprising three-goal cushion when he made McGill pay for a turnover deep in its own end with a quick shot from a sharp angle that Poitras couldn't handle. One minute and 45 seconds later, Jacques scored another to make it 4-0.
"For whatever reason, we missed a lot of open nets and a lot of opportunities," said Raymond. "I don't know why. It didn't happen all year and I was surprised to see it happen tonight.
"I think we need to learn from it. We can't accept the fact that we lost. I think we have to make sure that we mourn this defeat and move on, and obviously learn from this. It was a good experience for us to be able to see how to play against a big, physical team in a small rink because I expect that's what it's going be like in Edmonton."
Lakehead dictated the pace early, pinning the Redmen in their own zone immediately after the opening face-off. The disciplined Redmen appeared frustrated with the gritty play of the home team and gave the Wolves three power plays in the first period. Poitras, the Bill L'Heureux Trohpy winner as the Most Outstanding Player in the OUA, was in good position for much of the frame and had little trouble with a number of hard shots from the outside.
McGill had a couple of solid chances at the other end, though McCune made a pair of great saves on Shewchuk, denying the McGill scoring leader to keep the game scoreless. Shewchuk broke in alone and tried to wait McCune out but the goalie made a good stop with his right pad. Later in the period, Shewchuk came in from the right wing and fired a shot that McCune turned away.
Lakehead's Lodge and Drew Kivell took back-to-back minors late in the period to give the Redmen a two-man advantage for 47 seconds. The Wolves killed off the penalties and then got on the scoreboard with 1:02 left in the first on a great effort from Whelan. Mark Robinson sprung Whelan down the right wing with a perfect pass and the second-year centre from Orillia, ON beat Poitras on the glove side with a great backhander to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead against the best defensive team in the nation.
"It's one of the biggest goals I've probably scored," said an ecstatic Whelan. "It's great to get a goal in an important game and help out the team like this. I'm just glad it was kind of a nice one."
The Wolves finished the night 3-for-9 on the power play, while the Redmen came up empty in their nine attempts.
GAME SUMMARY
First Period
1. Lakehead, Whelan (Robinson) 18:58
Penalties_ Gauthier McGill (roughing after the whistle) 2:46; Self Lakehead (interference) 6:07; Kyres McGill (charging) 8:16; Pearce McGill (roughing), Richards Lakehead (roughing) 10:28; Urquhart McGill (roughing) 13:52; Lodge Lakehead (hooking) 15:23; Kivell Lakehead (cross-checking) 16:36
Second Period
2. Lakehead, Jacobsen (Scherban) 4:51 (pp)
3. Lakehead, Scherban (B. Priestlay, Jacobsen) 9:31 (pp)
4. Lakehead, Jacques (Wehrstedt, Scherban) 11:16 (pp)
Penalties_ Demers McGill (hooking) 4:06; Lange Lakehead (slashing) 4:57; Self Lakehead (tripping) 6:42; Urquhart McGill (slashing) 7:47; Leclerc McGill (roughing), Shewchuk McGill (roughing), Brown Lakehead (roughing) 10:46; Robinson Lakehead (inteference) 12:27; Pacquet McGill (cross-checking) 17:24
Third Period
No scoring.
Penalties_ Self Lakehead (slashing) 2:21; Brown Lakehead (interference) 5:31; Shewchuk McGill (slashing) 6:22; Shewchuk McGill (roughing) 11:14, Lodge Lakehead (checking to the head) (10-minute misconduct; served by Speer) 14:29; Paquet McGill (17:29
Shots on goal by
McGill 6 - 11 - 9 _26
Lakehead 8 - 5 - 2 _15
Goal (shots-saves)_McGill: Poitras (15-11) (L, 4-2); Lakehead: McCune (26-26) (W, 4-1)
Power plays (goals-chances)_ McGill: 0-9; Lakehead: 3-9
Attendance_ 3,735.
- OUA -
(Photo: Captain Joel Scherban hands the Queen's Cup off to fellow departing senior Erik Lodge after Lakehead's stunning 4-0 win over McGill. Photo by Rob Linke.)
Scherban was humbled by the experience, hoisting the Cup above his head as the standing-room only crowd at the Fort William Gardens roared in support.
"I can't even put it into words," said Scherban, who earned the Jack Kennedy Memorial Trophy as the Queen's Cup MVP to cap an incredible OUA career. "I've thought about it, winning a championship in my last game ever in Thunder Bay. It's just amazing right now."
McGill entered the playoffs having set a CIS record for team goals against, allowing just 29 goals all season but the usually air-tight Redmen defence, backstopped by star goaltender Mathieu Poitras, couldn't control an inspired Lakehead lineup. The Wolves scored three power-play goals in a six-minute, 25-second span in the second period to build a massive lead they would never relinquish. Lakehead is 13-0 lifetime in the playoffs at the home rink.
Scherban, Mike Jacobsen, Tobias Whelan and Matt Jacques scored for the Wolves, who go to Nationals in Edmonton later in the month with a 7-2 record in the 2006 post-season. Scherban, the Wolves all-time leading scorer and a five-time first-team OUA all-star, assisted on second-period markers by Jacobsen and Jacques and added his own goal at 9:31 of the frame. The win was a fitting end to Scherban's tenure at Lakehead, a stint he experienced with fellow fifth-year players McCune and defenceman Erik Lodge.
"I'm so happy for those guys, particularly Joel, Erik and Grant," said Lakehead head coach Pete Belliveau. "Those guys have a put of lot of sweat and effort in the last five years here, there's no doubt about it."
McCune got the call in net after backing up Chris Whitley in all three games of the semi-final round against the Laurier Golden Hawks and he came up with a timely performance. The Sherwood Park, AB native was steady in the third, while also stopping 11 shots in the wild second period alone.
"It feels phenomenal," said McCune. "I've never really won anything in my life. I know this isn't the final destination but it's definitely a step, so I'll take it."
"Over his five years, I can't even count how many great performances he's had, how many big wins he's had," Scherban said of McCune. "It's a statement of the kind of character he has and the commitment he has to the team."
McCune's best save of the night came when he cleared McGill centre Sam Bloom's attempt on the goal-line with his skate early in the second period. It proved to be a huge one as Lakehead made it 2-0 moments later when Jacobsen scored with a wrist shot from the high slot on a Wolves power play. McGill head coach Martin Raymond was livid with the goal, arguing that Redmen forward Shawn Shewchuk was interfered with, allowing Jacobsen to skate free into an open area an unleash the shot.
"We knew the refereeing was going to be tough on us here," said Raymond. "You just crossed your fingers that nothing major is not called and that was definitely a major play. It wound up putting us behind the eight ball, no doubt about that."
The Redmen should have got one back on their own man advantage after that but left winger Charles Gauthier rang one of the post with the net wide open as McCune was caught out of position. That miss was also costly as Scherban then gave the Wolves a surprising three-goal cushion when he made McGill pay for a turnover deep in its own end with a quick shot from a sharp angle that Poitras couldn't handle. One minute and 45 seconds later, Jacques scored another to make it 4-0.
"For whatever reason, we missed a lot of open nets and a lot of opportunities," said Raymond. "I don't know why. It didn't happen all year and I was surprised to see it happen tonight.
"I think we need to learn from it. We can't accept the fact that we lost. I think we have to make sure that we mourn this defeat and move on, and obviously learn from this. It was a good experience for us to be able to see how to play against a big, physical team in a small rink because I expect that's what it's going be like in Edmonton."
Lakehead dictated the pace early, pinning the Redmen in their own zone immediately after the opening face-off. The disciplined Redmen appeared frustrated with the gritty play of the home team and gave the Wolves three power plays in the first period. Poitras, the Bill L'Heureux Trohpy winner as the Most Outstanding Player in the OUA, was in good position for much of the frame and had little trouble with a number of hard shots from the outside.
McGill had a couple of solid chances at the other end, though McCune made a pair of great saves on Shewchuk, denying the McGill scoring leader to keep the game scoreless. Shewchuk broke in alone and tried to wait McCune out but the goalie made a good stop with his right pad. Later in the period, Shewchuk came in from the right wing and fired a shot that McCune turned away.
Lakehead's Lodge and Drew Kivell took back-to-back minors late in the period to give the Redmen a two-man advantage for 47 seconds. The Wolves killed off the penalties and then got on the scoreboard with 1:02 left in the first on a great effort from Whelan. Mark Robinson sprung Whelan down the right wing with a perfect pass and the second-year centre from Orillia, ON beat Poitras on the glove side with a great backhander to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead against the best defensive team in the nation.
"It's one of the biggest goals I've probably scored," said an ecstatic Whelan. "It's great to get a goal in an important game and help out the team like this. I'm just glad it was kind of a nice one."
The Wolves finished the night 3-for-9 on the power play, while the Redmen came up empty in their nine attempts.
GAME SUMMARY
First Period
1. Lakehead, Whelan (Robinson) 18:58
Penalties_ Gauthier McGill (roughing after the whistle) 2:46; Self Lakehead (interference) 6:07; Kyres McGill (charging) 8:16; Pearce McGill (roughing), Richards Lakehead (roughing) 10:28; Urquhart McGill (roughing) 13:52; Lodge Lakehead (hooking) 15:23; Kivell Lakehead (cross-checking) 16:36
Second Period
2. Lakehead, Jacobsen (Scherban) 4:51 (pp)
3. Lakehead, Scherban (B. Priestlay, Jacobsen) 9:31 (pp)
4. Lakehead, Jacques (Wehrstedt, Scherban) 11:16 (pp)
Penalties_ Demers McGill (hooking) 4:06; Lange Lakehead (slashing) 4:57; Self Lakehead (tripping) 6:42; Urquhart McGill (slashing) 7:47; Leclerc McGill (roughing), Shewchuk McGill (roughing), Brown Lakehead (roughing) 10:46; Robinson Lakehead (inteference) 12:27; Pacquet McGill (cross-checking) 17:24
Third Period
No scoring.
Penalties_ Self Lakehead (slashing) 2:21; Brown Lakehead (interference) 5:31; Shewchuk McGill (slashing) 6:22; Shewchuk McGill (roughing) 11:14, Lodge Lakehead (checking to the head) (10-minute misconduct; served by Speer) 14:29; Paquet McGill (17:29
Shots on goal by
McGill 6 - 11 - 9 _26
Lakehead 8 - 5 - 2 _15
Goal (shots-saves)_McGill: Poitras (15-11) (L, 4-2); Lakehead: McCune (26-26) (W, 4-1)
Power plays (goals-chances)_ McGill: 0-9; Lakehead: 3-9
Attendance_ 3,735.
- OUA -
(Photo: Captain Joel Scherban hands the Queen's Cup off to fellow departing senior Erik Lodge after Lakehead's stunning 4-0 win over McGill. Photo by Rob Linke.)
