It was another playoff appearance for the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team – their sixth straight – and it was thanks to a balanced attack.
The Lakers had three players hit the 20-plus point total and six more pick up over 10 points.
Three of their forwards hit the 10-goal plateau, with captain Matt Paton leading the way with 12 and while he’s a veteran, it was a few rookies that really chipped in offensively.
Jimmy McDowell, a first year defenceman from Lansing, Michigan, sat second on the team with 24 points thanks to seven goals and 17 assists in 26 games.
The third leading scorer on the team, was also a first year player, Erik Robichaud, who put up 11 goals and 12 assists in his first season in the OUA.
The two – McDowell and Robichaud – were named to the OUA All-Rookie team recently thanks to their strong campaigns.
McDowell recorded his first OUA point in the team’s first game of the season, picking up an assist and in the team’s second game, he scored his first goal, finding the net against UQTR.
He had eight multi-point games, including a three point effort – all assists – against Waterloo at the beginning of November.
His first two points came the first weekend of the season, and his final two points of the season came in the final weekend, as he earned a goal and an assist against Laurentian on the road as the Lakers closed out the regular season.
The OHL graduate did a lot of his damage on the power play, as he scored six of his seven goals with the man advantage.
Fellow rookie, Robichaud, a Timmins, Ontario native and another OHL grad, had an impressive campaign, often playing on the top line and the top power play unit.
He had three multi-point games, including a three point effort and a four point game which is where he scored a hat-trick.
Thanks to that four point game and five point weekend, Robichaud was named OUA Player of the Week.
There were only nine games throughout the season that Robichaud didn’t record a point – an impressive feat for a first year player.
His first point came in the team’s second game, as he earned an assist against UQTR and his first goal was scored against RMC in mid-October.
The two players combined for 18 goals, 29 assists and 47 points as first year players and made a huge impact on the power play, which ranked fourth in the OUA.
After Paton, McDowell and Robichaud were second and third on the team in points.
As the two gain experience at this level, they’ll continue to be dominant forces in the league and be huge offensive contributors to the Lakers.
