Playing in a Round 1 best-of-three series against the No. 3 West seed Lakehead Thunderwolves, Ben Bonisteel led the No. 6 West seed Badgers to an upset in three games. The first matchup, taking place on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at Canada Games Park saw the second-year netminder record 34 saves in an 8-5 victory. Game 2 took place at Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ont., with Brock dropping a narrow 3-2 loss in double overtime on Friday, Feb. 20. Bonisteel kept the Badgers alive all game, turning away 35 out of 38 shots as they killed off six of seven penalties. With the series tied up at one apiece, Game 3 became a winner-take-all matchup, where Bonisteel and the Badgers outduelled the Thunderwolves with a 4-2 road victory. After going down 2-1, the Computer Science major held the Thunderwolves scoreless for the final 38 minutes, allowing the team's offence to contribute as they scored three unanswered goals. Bonisteel's 90-save performance over the week has earned the Badgers a berth in the OUA quarterfinals, where they will take on the No. 2 OUA West seed TMU Bold in a best-of-three series.
