The Wilfrid Laurier University men’s varsity hockey team had a great start to their season this week, defeating Lakehead in both games of a doubleheader.
The Hawks finished their preseason with one win and six losses.
However, with three out of six exhibition games being played against non-OUA teams, the pre-season does not seem to be a strong indicator for the team’s potential.
What may have been the biggest take away from the pre-season was a close 4-3 loss against UOIT, a skilled team that should do well this year.
Also, in what can only be described as a learning experience, Laurier lost 8-2 against the Western Michigan Broncos from division one of the NCAA.
For the remaining match ups, Laurier took on Windsor and Waterloo and can expect to see these teams again in league play.
A good indicator for the upcoming year is Laurier’s strong finish with a sound 5-2 victory against Waterloo and a close 2-1 overtime loss against the Brampton Beast of the ECHL.
In an email response, Coach Greg Puhalski commented, “From our pre-season we gave everyone on our team an opportunity to play. As a coaching staff, we saw what we needed to see. All of our players have shown a commitment to be a good team.”
There are four new additions to the Golden Hawk squad: Kyle Jenkins, Anthony Conti, Anthony Sorrentino and Jeremy Pullara.
Jenkins will be a player to watch this year, drawing on his four years in the OHL and experience at the Edmonton Oilers rookie camp last year.
Jenkins assisted Laurier’s first goal of the year with Conti and Sorrentino also earning assists in the 8-3 win.
“We had a good opening weekend to our regular season with two wins and we played well. We need to execute parts of our game plan better. That is something we will work on all season long,” coach Puhalski said in reference to the team’s start.
On Oct. 20 and 21 Laurier will be taking the long, cold trip north to Nipissing and Laurentian Universities.
“Look forward to our road trip vs Nipissing and Laurentian. Trip up north is always a challenge and this time will be no different. Our team is excited for the games,” Puhalski said.
The Golden Hawks will be on the road for their next four games.
You can catch their next action packed home game against York on Saturday, Nov. 4.
