Lakers Impress Crowd in Exhibition Action

By Ian S. Wassink

North Bay received the first taste of what university level hockey is like Saturday night and the crowd was impressed with what they saw.  The University of Ottawa Gee Gees made the trip to North Bay and was welcomed with a thundering cheer in Memorial Gardens when the Nipissing University Lakers took to the ice for the puck drop at 7 p.m. 

After regulation play, the game was tied 2-2.  Due to similar rules used in the OHL and NHL, the teams played five minutes of 4-on-4 overtime action until the Gee Gees notched the extra point to win the game 3-2 with 3:42 left in OT.  In regular season play, both teams would receive one point for the tie and an extra point for the win in OT (or a shoot out if the game was still tied after the five-minute OT).

First period action saw the Lakers defenceman Sean Ryan receive the first penalty for hooking barely a minute into the game.  Ottawa scored first, with 5:38 left in the period after receiving a tripping penalty three minutes prior.  With two minutes left in the first period, Lakers defenceman John Quarrie, recruited from the Oshawa Generals, fanned on a shot in the attacking zone due to a broken stick that resulted in an Ottawa break.  An amazing save by Lakers goaltender Kyle Cantlon halted the play.

The second period saw the Lakers increase their shots on goal margin as they matched the Gee Gees strong play.  It was merely three minutes into the period when Ryan Maunu scored the Lakers first goal just 13 seconds into a two player advantage power play.  Maunu, formerly of Lakehead and the Soo Thunder was happy that his goal restored motivation to the team and the crowd. 

“It felt good to get one under the belt to get the guys going,” he said. 

After both teams changed goaltenders, the score remained 1-1 at the end of the second.  The Lakers continued to perform and outshoot the Gee Gees 29-10.

The third period featured penalties handed to both teams until the Gee Gees notched their second goal of the game at the 6:29 mark.  The Lakers quickly responded and answered with a goal of their own by Andrew Marcoux, who previously played with the Mississauga Ice Dogs.  The Ottawa game winner went to Matthieu Methot, a veteran with the Gee Gees, who scored an unassisted goal in overtime. 

The Lakers out shot the Gee Gees 47-14 despite losing the game 3-2.  If anything is certain, the Lakers have shown that they can compete at the OUA level.