Lakers Athletics recap - November 2013
Your Nipissing Lakers were in action on the court and on the ice last weekend, read all about it, right here.
Game briefs:
Men’s Hockey
The Lakers men’s hockey team dropped a pair of games this past weekend against the Windsor Lancers, 5-1 and 5-3.
Women’s Hockey
The Women’s Hockey team lost 3-1 to the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday afternoon, and lost 5-1 to the Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday.
Men’s Volleyball
The Men’s Volleyball team beat the RMC Paladins 3-1 on Friday, before being swept by Queen’s on Saturday.
Women’s Volleyball
The Women’s Volleyball team lost to the RMC Paladins on Friday night, 3-1, and dropped three-straight to Queen’s on Saturday.
And now, for some more in-depth analysis, we turn to our Sports Information Clerk, Robb Fenton…
Women’s Hockey
A strong first period and the opening goal wasn’t enough for the Nipissing Lakers women’s hockey team to snap their losing streak, as the Laurier Golden Hawks scored five straight goals on their way to a 5-1 win Sunday night.
The Lakers have now lost four in a row and have only managed three goals in that span.
Jade Gauthier scored her team leading fourth goal of the season, which was the long marker for the Lakers who were out-shot 34-24 including 16-3 in the final period.
Jackie Rochefort was solid in net despite suffering the loss and allowing five goals.
The Lakers power play struggled, having a number of chances, but not being able to capitalize.
Local product Roby Degagne picked up two points for the Hawks, with a goal and an assist.
While the effort and hard work are there, the results are not, but the Lakers will get a chance to end their slide this weekend when they hit the road.
The Lakers face York Saturday and UOIT Sunday, looking to get back into the win column and climb the standings.
Men’s Hockey
Despite another very solid start, the first goal of the game and an impressive opening period, the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team fell short against the Windsor Lancers for the second time in as many nights.
The Lakers built a 1-0 in the first period on a Grant Toulmin goal, but Windsor scored the next four goals and held on for a 5-3 win to sweep the two-game set against the Lakers.
Down 4-1, the Lakers attempted a comeback with goals about three minutes apart by Conor O’Donnell and Dorian Peca in the final frame, but after that they couldn’t find the equalizer and the Lancers added another goal with just over a minute remaining in the game.
John Chartrand was tagged with the loss despite having a solid game in net after returning from injury. He made 30 saves in total as the Lakers were outshot 35-28.
The Lakers now hit the road for a pair of games next weekend, facing Laurier Friday night and Waterloo Saturday.Men’s Volleyball
One night after earning their first victory of the season, the Nipissing Lakers men’s volleyball team ran into a strong opponent and couldn’t make it two in a row, losing to the Queen’s Gaels in straight sets.
The Lakers ended up with a split of the weekend and will now look to build on the success they found heading into their lone game next weekend.
Shawn Humphrey led the way for the Lakers, collecting six kills while Hogan Smith had five and a total of seven Lakers players hit the scoreboard with kills.
The second set was the best for the Lakers, as they lost 25-23, but were right in the mix from start to finish. Queen’s only has one loss so far this season, putting them near the top of the standings.
Nipissing will now regroup and prepare for their only game of the weekend when they host the York Lions Saturday. York is currently on top of the OUA standings with a 6-2 record.
Women’s Volleyball
Nipissing Lakers women’s volleyball head coach Marc LaRochelle knew his team would be in tough in the OUA, and he knew there would be an adjustment period, but he was hoping to see a more consistent effort each match. The Lakers dropped a pair of matches on the road this past weekend, losing 3-1 to RMC and 3-0 to Queen’s, but it wasn’t the losses that LaRochelle was unhappy with.
"I was rather disappointed with our compete level Friday night," said head coach Marc LaRochelle. "RMC outworked us from the start and our lack of execution in all phases of the game was evident."
The Lakers did manage to earn their first set victory of the season against RMC, but that would be as close as they would get. On Saturday, LaRochelle noted his team improved their battle level and even though the results were the same, there were things to build on. "Overall it was a much better effort Saturday," said LaRochelle. "Our defence was better and besides the second set, we competed hard."
Lindsay Vanderweide led the Lakers attack with six kills, while Heather Thompson and Tracy Hammerton each had three kills.
The Lakers will return home to face the York Lions Saturday in their lone match of the weekend.