By Hayden Godfrey
After quickly dismantling the Lakehead Thunderwolves Friday night, the Rams, attempting to extend their winning streak to six games, were bested and ended up losing 3-2 on Nov. 16 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Halfway through the first period, the Rams got on the board in a spectacular fashion. Forward Cavin Leth skated through the neutral zone on a four-minute power-play, and slid sneakily through a pair of hulking Lakehead defencemen and buried his fourth goal of the season.
Even though the goal was added to his personal highlight reel, Leth, like his teammates, was focused on the bigger picture following the loss.
“It’s tough, especially when we were getting on a roll,” said Leth. “But, at the end of the day, it’s a good reality check. It’s a good time to look in the mirror and kind of get back to humbling ourselves.”
Exactly two minutes into the second frame, the Rams struck again, this time thanks to the crafty stickwork of forward Devon Paliani, who fired home his third goal of the year.
Later on in the frame, the Thunderwolves answered when forward Brett Wolframe beat Rams goaltender Troy Timpano on the short side after a lengthy scramble. Lakehead’s Kyle Auger tied things up near the frame’s halfway point, followed closely by Scott Gall, who gave his team the shocking lead on a nifty wrist shot.
“They came out, they outworked us, and they were the better team tonight,” said Rams head coach Johnny Duco. “We just didn’t bring our best work ethic tonight. Kudos to them for bringing it in a big way tonight.”
The third period was ominously frustrating for the Rams, as they had some spectacular chances, but couldn’t convert at several pivotal points in the game. Though they pulled their goalie with a minute remaining and made things interesting in the dying seconds, they were kept scoreless in the third period.
Despite the loss, Duco’s squad, which now owns a record of 8-3-2, doesn’t feel discouraged.
“Tonight, we didn’t have it,” said Duco. “The guys will leave disappointed and we’ll come back hungry. There are no easy games in this league and that’s the learning curve for young guys and even returning guys.”
UP NEXT: The Rams will travel to Guelph to face the Gryphons on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Leave a Reply