It was an up and down weekend for the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team, as they split a pair of home games.
Friday night, the Lakers were shutdown by the Brock Badgers, who played a strong road game, to walk away with a 3-2 win over Nipissing.
The Lakers were able to bounce back Saturday night, however, and earn a big 4-2 win over the visiting York Lions.
The Lakers led from start to finish Saturday, played a strong two-way game and were fully deserving of the two points.
Now, with two games left on the schedule, both away from home, Nipissing is hoping to finish off the semester with a few more victories.
Currently sitting in fifth place, just one point behind Laurentian and only six out of first place, the Lakers hope to close out the first semester with some success.
The weekend is big in a few ways – one for Nipissing to build off Saturday’s win, but also to keep some distance between the two teams chasing them – who happen to be their opponents this weekend.
Queens sits just two points behind Nipissing, while UOIT is just four points back.
Queens has two games in hand, but if the Lakers can extend their lead to four points, those games may not matter in the long run.
In their long meeting this year, UOIT slipped past the Lakers 3-2 in Nipissing’s home opened, so there is some added incentive for the Lakers to pick up two points there.
Queens has a number of former OHL players on the roster, including top goaltender Kevin Bailie, who was outstanding last season and rewarded with both league and national recognition.
Three of the top four scorers on the Gaels team are former OHL stand-outs, who have wrapped up their career and moved on to the OUA.
The other member of the team’s leading scorer is a former star in the BCHL.
It won’t be an easy matchup for the Lakers, but if they play like they did Saturday, they’ll be in a realistic position to pick up two points.
UOIT, on the other hand, has had an up and down season, beating some of the league’s top teams, but struggling to play consistent hockey. They have defeated Nipissing, McGill and Western, but lost to UQTR and Carleton twice by lopsided scores, so they have been a bit of a mystery.
They are currently on a two game losing streak and are 2-5-0 in the month of November.
In saying that, in their first meeting, UOIT defeated the Lakers, so once again, Nipissing will need to play well to pick up points.
Game times are scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. versus Queens and Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. against UOIT.
Lakers Women on a roll
Entering the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the OUA, the Nipissing Lakers women’s hockey team isn’t planning on slowing down any time soon.
Riding a franchise-record five game winning streak, the Lakers will close out the first semester of action with two road games – Saturday at Guelph and Sunday at Brock.
After starting the year 2-1-1, the Lakers dropped three straight to close out October, but since the start of November, they’ve won all five games and have scored a total of 19 goals.
A huge improvement from the three they scored during their three game losing streak about a month ago.
While the offence is on the upswing, their defensive play and goaltending hasn’t suffered either, as they’ve only allowed nine goals during their streak, capped by last weekend’s shutout victory by Jackie Rochefort.
As well as the Lakers are playing, they still find themselves in a dogfight in the middle of thr standings, as they sit in sixth – three points out of second place, but only four points up on 11 th place.
Aside from the Western Mustangs, who are 11-0-1 and on a 10-game winning streak, the Lakers are the hottest team in the league.
It truly has been a total team effort during this run for the Lakers, with a number of players stepping up and contributing.
Another highlight of their streak – and season overall – has been the team’s place in overtime and shootouts.
The Lakers hold a 4-1 record in games that go past regulation, losing just once to the Laurier Golden Hawks in the second game of the season.
Nipissing’s two opponents this weekend pose different challenges, as the Gryphons are coming off a loss and will be looking to get back on track and remain one of the top teams in the league.
Brock, on the other hand, sits in last place and are currently winless, but are still dangerous and can’t be taken lightly.
Saturday’s showdown with the Gryphons goes at 2 p.m. on Saturday and the final game of the first half of the season is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Sunday against the Badgers.
