Badger bandwagon barrelling towards Playoffs

The Badgers are getting hot at just the right time. For a team that once struggled to find any sort of consistency during the first half of the season, the Men's Hockey team is now surging up the standings after winning five of the last six games, and seven of their last nine.

"There's no question we're probably playing as good as in any stretch we have this year," said Head Coach Murray Nystrom. "Our special teams have found a bit of a groove the last few weeks, and I think that's helped."

"I think after the Christmas break everyone came back ready to go and everyone's pulling their weight and scoring goals," said defenceman Kevin Christmas (Hamilton, ON) after tallying the game winner against the Waterloo Warriors on Jan. 25.

The Badgers entered the game against the Warriors looking for a measure of revenge after dropping a hard fought match against Waterloo in the inaugural OUA outdoor classic.

"I think the guys, to be honest, were very disappointed with the result at the outdoor game. We played well, and we may have played well enough to win the game, but didn't," said Nystrom. "The guys were determined to make sure [this one's] result favoured us."

The Badgers took a 2-0 lead over the Warriors in the first period on goals by Isaac Smeltzer (Estevan, SK) and Matt Abercrombie (Sarnia, ON), while limiting Waterloo to a mere three shots on net.

The Warriors closed the gap to one in the second period on a goal by Thomas Cardiff (London, ON), but a third period goal by Christmas extended the Badgers lead and ended up as the game winner.

After the final buzzer sealed a 4-2 victory, Ryan Allen (Fort McMurray, AB) became the all-time Brock leader in games played with 130. In five seasons the durable forward has only missed three games.

While the win was nice, the Badgers had little time to enjoy it, as only two days later the team played against the nationally-ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves.

"To be successful you have to go through Lakehead at some point in time. I think our guys are looking forward to the challenge. They're a good team, they're deep, and you've got to play your best to beat them," said Nystrom.

The Jan. 27 game had an inauspicious start for the red-hot Badgers, as Andrew Wilkins (Pickering, ON) gave the Thunderwolves the lead less than 30 seconds into the game. A start that may have shaken a more fragile Brock team at the beginning of the season did not faze the more confident Badger bunch in January. Kaine Geldart (Kingston, ON) scored a powerplay goal to tie the game and C.J. Dickson (Thorold, ON) buried a penalty shot to give the Badgers the lead.

Sean Jones (Newmarket, ON) increased the lead to two in the third and although Lakehead would score a goal late to make things interesting, the final score of 3-2 would stand in favour of the Badgers.

The win pushed Brock (13-10-1 OUA) within one point of York for fourth place in the division and three points behind Waterloo for third.

Looking ahead it doesn't get any easier for the Badgers. Three of their next four games are against the Thunderwolves (16-7-0 OUA); two of which are on the road, where Brock is only 3-7.

The Badgers re-welcome the Thunderwolves to the Seymour-Hannah Centre Feb. 3 for their final regular season home game. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m.