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Thunderwolves of yesteryear recall magical 2005-06 playoff run

The 2005-06 Lakehead Thunderwolves squad may go down as the best team in the school’s lengthy hockey history. Barring a future University Cup win, it’s hard to argue.
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The majority of the 2005-06 Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team's players and coaches were at Saturday's Lakehead Athletics wall of fame ceremony. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

The 2005-06 Lakehead Thunderwolves squad may go down as the best team in the school’s lengthy hockey history.

Barring a future University Cup win, it’s hard to argue.

But the team, led by the likes of captain Joel Scherban and Jeff Richards up front, Mike Jacobsen and Erik Lodge on the blue-line, Grant McCune and Chris Whitley between the pipes and coach and architect Pete Belliveau behind the bench, wasn’t really a playoff favourite when the post-season rolled around.

The Wolves, who would go on to lose the national final 3-2 to the Alberta Golden Bears, struggled down the stretch, posting a .500 record in the second half, including four losses to the rival Western Mustangs, a team that surely stood in their way of playoff success.
Then destiny stepped in.

Lodge scored with 0.1 seconds left in Game 2 to dispatch of the York Lions in Round 1. Tobias Whalen scored the overtime winner to take Game 1 against the No. 4 Mustangs and Jason Lange scored twice and Whitley made 30 stops in a 3-0 shutout in the decisive Game 3.

The Wolves scored back-to-back 4-2 wins over No. 9 Laurier in Round 3. McCune then powered the Wolves to a Queen’s Cup victory on home ice with a 26-save, 4-0 shutout over McGill.

After knocking off Acadia to open the University Cup in Edmonton, Richards netted a hat trick against Saskatchewan, sending Lakehead to the national final, just five seasons after returning to CIS hockey.

“We beat five ranked teams,” Scherban said on Saturday, prior to the team being inducted onto the Lakehead Athletics wall of fame.

“A lot of people forget how difficult it was. We faced a lot of adversity. We faced some significant injuries and some significant illnesses. We probably underachieved in the regular season, but it was a team that always rose to the occasion, a team that always truly believed it could win and would do whatever it took to win.

“We got into the playoffs and just the drive and everyone being able to contribute is what led us to win.”

Richards, who missed a chunk of time that season with a knee injury, said the fact 18 members of the team came back for Saturday’s induction ceremony shows just how tight a team it was.

It’s easy to look back at how far the team went and assume it was an easy run. Richards, like Scherban, was quick to point out that wasn’t the case.

It’s the early adversity that helped the team bond further during a disappointing 13-9-2 campaign.

“I think that’s what helped bring our team together and make us stronger,” said Richards, now a teacher in Kenora. “Throughout the playoff run and through to the nationals we had a couple of guys step up, especially Chris Whitley in net. We just rode that and made it to the final and just missed out on that one.”

The final itself was an intense affair, Richards recalled.

“You’re playing the host in a building with 5,000 people in the bottom bowl and it was packed and it was loud and we had a lot of fans come out too. It was just great,” he said.

Lodge said looking back, it was easy to get caught up in the moment, take the success for granted. Since 2006 the Wolves have had their moments, including a pair of national championship appearances, one with Scherban behind the bench.

But they’ve also struggled at times.

“We didn’t know,” said Lodge, who know works with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels. “We just kind of went through it. To put a team like that together in five years (Pete’s) skills on the recruiting side were just really well done. He did a really good job there and I think the thing is he brought in good people.

“We had character people. We didn’t have the most skilled team at times, but we worked for each other and we believed in each other and a common goal and got it done.”



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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