For a few moments, it appeared Darcy Greenaway’s late goal on Saturday would be enough to give men’s hockey their second win in two nights.
However, late defensive lapses mixed with untimely bounces saw the Lakehead Thunderwolves capitalize after Greenaway scored with 2:54 left in the third period.
Lakehead (5-8-2) escaped with a 7-6 overtime win, one night after Queen’s (7-5-1) beat them 6-0.
“We got away from detail,” Gaels assistant coach Andrew Haussler said following Saturday’s loss. “We got away from our structure, and it came back and bit us in the butt.” The back and forth affair saw each team score four times in the first period, followed by a scoreless second. Though Lakehead never held an advantage until the end of the game, they erased six straight Queen’s one-goal leads.
“It just seemed like whoever had the puck last was going to win,” Haussler said. “It’s tough to look at the positives when you give up seven [goals].”
Lakehead forward Cody Alcock set up overtime by scoring the equalizer in the final minute of the third period. He followed this by emulating Greenaway’s celebration from moments earlier, dropping to a knee before swiping his hand upward along the ice.
Alcock led Lakehead with four points in the game, while the Thunderwolves’ Cody Kostecki scored 1:12 into the four-on-four overtime frame after a goalmouth scramble and momentary confusion over the goal’s legitimacy.
Gaels goaltender Chris Clarke had an uncharacteristically shaky start on Saturday, making just one save on four shots before getting replaced in net by Kevin Bailie.
Queen’s Spencer Abraham took over the league lead for assists from a defenceman, recording four on Saturday to raise his season total to 14.
Although Saturday’s loss left a sour taste in the Gaels’ mouths, there were still positives drawn from the weekend.
Forward Andrew Wiebe scored a pair of goals to lead Queen’s on Friday, marking his second straight two-goal performance.
“If I could have 20 Andrew Wiebes, we’d win a lot of hockey games,” said Gaels head coach Brett Gibson. “I can’t say enough about him.”
The Gaels scored three goals in the first 2:11 of the second period on Friday to jump ahead to a 3-0 lead. Bailie said the rapid onslaught was something the Gaels had been looking to achieve this year.
“Traditionally, we haven’t had the fastest starts to period,” Bailie said. “We decided it was our time.”
Bailie also managed his first shutout of the year in the win, stopping all 22 pucks he faced.
“That’s probably the best solid team game we’ve played all year,” he said.
Queen’s hosts the Nipissing Lakers (8-6-1) and Laurentian Voyageurs (8-5-2) this weekend in their final home games of 2014. After a stretch of seven straight losses to the Lakers, the Gaels have won both of their most recent matchups.
Tags
Gaels, Gibson, Haussler, Lakehead, Men's hockey
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