THUNDER BAY, ON – The Lakehead University Thunderwolves men’s basketball team will host a playoff game on Saturday night at 7:00 pm versus the Guelph Gryphons, after receiving a first round bye thanks to a OUA West first place finish in the regular season. The #6 seed Gryphons advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 61-58 win over the #3 seed Laurier Golden Hawks on Wednesday evening in Waterloo.
This first round result may be considered by some to be a stroke of good luck for the ‘Wolves, who otherwise would have faced the Windsor Lancers on Saturday. The Lancers, who the T-Wolves did beat twice earlier this season on the road, boast a large front line and would have presented more size match-up challenges for Lakehead. That being said, the Guelph Gryphons have a fresh memory of the Lakehead roster and play tactics, due to the recent games last weekend (both of which Lakehead won by double digits).
Scott Morrison’s roster is still going through its bouts with injuries, with the following status listings heading into the weekend:
Brendan King- Probable
Yoosrie Salhia- Probable
Greg Carter- Questionable
Joey Nitychoruk- Out
Nathan Wainwright – Out
Looking past the regular season and into the post-season, Morrison is confident that his remaining players will be able to execute and that the ‘6th man’ – the Thunderdome crowd- will be a factor, but also that Saturday’s match-up will come with its own unique challenges:
“There should be few surprises from either team this weekend as it will be our third time playing in 8 days. We can’t take much comfort in our regular season wins as play-off time means tough games and anything can happen. We have to do a good job preparing for Guelph’s personnel as well as have everyone on our shortened roster ready to step up their level of intensity for the second season. It’s our last home stand of the season and we will also need our supporters out in full force looking to make an impact.”
Game time is 7 pm Saturday evening.
Game will be webcast on SSN Canada (www.ssncanada.ca/games) and play by play audio commentary will be broadcast via CILU Radio 102.7 FM, luradio.ca