The Lakehead Thunderwolves won their second straight Orientation Cup in dominating fashion Sunday.
Taking on the Georgian Grizzlies at Rotary Place, Lakehead was in control during the entire game, which ended in a score of 11-1.
While the rules call for no contact, tempers began to flare in the final minutes, which saw a few fights and multiple trips to the penalty box for both teams.
Thunderwolves head coach Tim Bailey described his team’s performance as “dynamite.”
“It’s excellent,” he said of the victory, noting the same team won the Super League championship last year.
As Lakehead’s goals kept coming, Bailey gave his team a heads-up.
“When a score’s like that, I let the guys know it could get chippy,” he said. “They handled it pretty well.”
There are 12 returning players on the Lakehead squad, which, like the team's final goal tally, was in contrast to Georgian.
“We have a lot of new players this year. It was used as a tryout for some of our guys,” Grizzlies head coach Jeremy Sauvé said, adding it was the team’s first time on the ice this season. “There was a bit of a lull because we were getting far behind, but they were trying to find their legs.”
Despite the outcome, he praised his team for its determination and refusal to give up.
“The score didn’t show it, but there were a lot of good things I saw today,” he said.
The dust-ups near the end were to be expected, Sauvé added.
“That goes along with the O Cup rivalry,” he said. “When you’re losing by that much and someone keeps pushing you — I think our guys responded well.”
