Box Score Special teams played a huge factor as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team fell 5-2 to the No. 7 Lakehead Thunderwolves on Saturday night (Jan. 4) in Thunder Bay, Ont.

With the loss, the Blues drop to 9-7-2 and remain in fifth place in the West.

Both the Blues and Thunderwolves went 1-for-6 on the powerplay; however, the Thunderwolves added three short handed goals, one with a U of T empty net, on the night.

Down 2-0 at the midway point of the game, rookie forward Connor Cleverley (Winnipeg) got the Blues on the board at the 16:30 mark of the second frame when he banged in his second goal of the season.

The Thunderwolves responded and restored their two-goal lead with a powerplay goal 37 seconds later, but 2012-13 OUA all-star Jeff Brown (Toronto) cut the deficit to one again, tipping a Tyler Turcotte point shot on the man advantage with 1:07 remaining in the second period.

The Blues had some great chances to even the score on an early powerplay in the third; however, the Thunderwolves put the game away with a shorthanded goalfive minutes in. Lakehead added a shorthanded empty-netter in the final minutes to seal the win.

Blues goalie Brett Willows (Rivers, Man.) made 28 saves in the loss.

The Varsity Blues return to action this Thursday, January 9 when they head to Waterloo to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. 

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