Fresh off a Round 1 victory over the TMU Bold, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team sets their sights on the top-seeded Lakehead Thunderwolves in a best-of-three OUA quarter-final series this week (Feb. 22-25).

Series Schedule:
Game 1: Wednesday, February 22 | Lakehead at Toronto | 7:00 p.m. | Varsity Arena
Game 2: Friday, February 24 | Toronto at Lakehead | 7:00 p.m. | Fort William Gardens
*Game 3: Saturday, February 25 | Toronto at Lakehead | 7:00 p.m. | Fort William Gardens
(*if necessary)
 
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"We learned a lot about our team in the first round and are looking to take that experience with us moving into the second round," said Varsity Blues head coach Ryan Medel. "We're playing a team that finished off their regular season on a great run and have found offence in a number of different areas. It's a series where the details will be important and you can't take shifts off. We're looking forward to getting it started on Wednesday night."

THE STAKES: Should the Blues defeat the Thunderwolves, they would take on the winner of Windsor/Brock in the semifinals – with a spot in the OUA Queen's Cup final and a berth to the U SPORTS national championship on the line. Three OUA teams will qualify for the national tournament in Charlottetown this season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Blues went 1-1-1 with the Thunderwolves during the regular season. Toronto opened the season series with a 4-1 home victory on Nov. 19. The Blues then dropped a narrow 2-1 overtime decision at Lakehead on Jan. 6, before falling 4-2 on Jan. 7.

Fourth-year forward Owen Guy led the way for the Blues offensively this season. Playing all 27 games, the Kemptville, Ont., native recorded eight goals and 14 assists for a total of 22 points. Finishing right behind Guy was second-year forward Cole Purboo, who led the team in goals (13). Purboo finished the season tied for ninth in OUA goals scored. 

A trio of Blues in Purboo, Nicholas Wong and Ben Woodhouse each notched two goals and one assist to lead the Blues in the first round.
 
In his first season starting for the Blues, second-year goalie Jett Alexander was a master in the crease. After starting 22 games, Alexander posted a .927 save percentage and 2.21 goals against average. He continued that work through the first round, holding a .948 save percentage and 1.69 goals against average versus TMU.

The Thunderwolves, who are coming off a first-round bye, were led by forwards Griffen Fox and Spencer Blackwell. Fox notched 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points, while Blackwell had 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 25 games this season.

Christian Cicigoi and Max Wright have split duties between the pipes, holding 2.74 and 2.49 goals against averages, respectively.