The rivalry everyone talks about is the Lakers team and the Western Mustangs, but that isn’t the only team the Lakers have a history with.
The Lakers, who sit in second spot in the OUA standings, have faced Western in both playoff meetings in their short history, but their first ever playoff win – and series win – came against their first opponent this weekend, the Queens Gaels.
The Lakers and Gaels met last February, with the Lakers earned a first round win, defeating Queens in overtime in North Bay and edging them on the road for the sweep.
They also kicked off this season with a 5-2 win over the Gaels, one of their 10 wins through 12 games this season.
Last season, the teams split a pair of games, which puts the Lakers at 3-0-1 versus Queens in their past four meetings, playoffs included.
This weekend, the Lakers, who have just lost once in regulation and twice overall, will begin the 2017 portion of the season as they push for top spot in the OUA.
Queens, on the other hand, is coming off two wins to end 2016, but dropped two exhibition games early in January versus McGill and St. Mary’s.
The Gaels currently sit 11th in the conference, but are only three points behind Western, who holds down fifth place, so they’ll look for a quick start to the new year as they attempt to gain ground in the standings.
Nipissing has two games in hand on conference leading Guelph and sit just three points back, so a win to begin the second half of the season would see the Lakers potentially gain ground, depending on Guelph’s results.
On Saturday, Nipissing will wrap up their weekend facing the UOIT Ridgebacks, a team tied with Queens in the standings.
The Lakers topped the Ridgebacks in a shootout on the road in their second game of the season and have had success against them in their program’s history.
UOIT is coming off two wins before the Christmas break and finished November with a 3-2-1 record.
UOIT is 3-3-0 on the road, while the Lakers boast a 4-0-1 record at home, losing just once in overtime to Brock.
Nipissing is hoping for a quick start to the second half of and to pick up where they left off in 2016.
Both games are set for 4:30 p.m. at Memorial Gardens, Friday and Saturday.
It wasn’t the first half of the year the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team wanted, but the plan is – New Year, new results.
The Lakers, who sit 9th in the OUA East, enter the second half of the year looking in on the playoff picture, but they’re only five points out of the final spot as they look to close the gap.
Their push begins this weekend, as they host the Laurier Golden Hawks and Waterloo Warriors, two teams from the West Division, but teams the Lakers need to beat and earn points against.
Laurier is fifth in the West Division with 19 points, thanks to a 8-7-3 record, while Waterloo is in the same spot as Nipissing, one spot out of the post-season.
Nipissing enters 2017 having won just a single game of their past five matchups, a win in London over Windsor.
Laurier visits North Bay with just two wins in their past five games, but their did close out 2016 with a win over Brock in early December, so they’ll look to continue their strong play and being climbing the West standings.
Despite just the one win in their past five, the Lakers have a 3-4-0 record in their final seven games of 2016.
Saturday’s matchup against Waterloo is a big game for Nipissing, as they face a team in a similar position and while it won’t be easy, earning points are a must.
Waterloo won two of their final three games of 2016, but went 3-5-1 down the stretch.
With tough games against UOIT, Carleton, McGill and UQTR all coming up in the second half of the season, points will be at a premium for the Lakers and it begins this weekend.
Puck drop is set for 7:15 p.m. both Friday and Saturday night at Memorial Gardens.
