THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Thunderwolves will take on the Manitoba Bisons for a pair of games at the Fort William Gardens this weekend, with the opening face-off set for 7:00 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights.
Last Time Out
Lakehead opened its season with a pair of close losses to the Lethbridge Pronghorns last weekend. After opening up leads in both games, the Wolves fell 4-2 to Lethbridge on Friday night and then were edged 5-4 by the Pronghorns the following evening.
Manitoba played only one game last weekend, taking a 5-1 loss at the University of North Dakota.
Series History
Lakehead leads Manitoba in the all-time series between the two teams with a record of 9-6 versus the Bisons.
The Thunderwolves opened last season by hosting the Bisons for a pair of games at the Fort William Gardens. Lakehead won the first match 4-3, but Manitoba rebounded with a 6-2 decision the following night.
About the Bisons
The Bisons return a lot of offensive firepower from last year’s team in Jordan DePape (leading scorer in the Canada West Conference) and Shaq Merasty (6th in Canada West scoring). Brett Stovin is a dangerous forward as well, and rearguard Channing Bresciani anchors the Manitoba defense.
Manitoba has both netminders from last season coming back as well, with Justin Paulic and Byron Spriggs likely to continue sharing time in the Bisons’ goal.
Located in Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba is Lakehead’s nearest CIS hockey rival.
Injury Update
Lakehead forward Billy Jenkins (ankle) and defenceman Linden Springer (upper body) are both doubtful for the Manitoba series. Forward Cody Alcock will likely be in the line-up for at least one game this weekend for the first time since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery last February.
