Although the Lakehead Thunderwolves are not playing at this year's CIS Telus University Cup National Championships in Edmonton; it was a banner day for Lakehead players as team Captain Joel Scherban was named the winner of the prestigious Joseph E. Sullivan Trophy as the Tissot Player of the Year in CIS Men's Hockey. Scherban was also named a First Team All Canadian. Joining Scherban as All-Canadians were Erik Lodge and Jeff Richards who were both named Second Team All-Canadians.
The three players were given their awards at the CIS University Cup Awards Night held at the Provincial Museum of Alberta in Edmonton on Wednesday night.
Scherban is the first Thunderwolves player to win the Sullivan Trophy and the second Lakehead hockey player; Vince Friyia won the award in 1979-80 while playing for Lakehead's previous incarnation, the Norwesters. Scherban is the second Thunderwolves player, and third Lakehead player, to be named a First Team All Canadian, joining Jeff Richards who was named last year. Friyia was also the only Norwester to be named a First Team All Canadian.
Scherban was named an OUA First Team All star this season for the fourth consecutive year and was the OUA West MVP. The Fourth Year HB Commerce student from Thunder Bay was second in regular season team scoring and first in overall team scoring. He was also Captain of the OUA All Stars that represented Canada at the Winter Universiade in Austria in January where he led all scorers in the round robin section of the tournament and tied for first in overall scoring with Team Russia's Oleg Smirnov.
Scherban said being named the top player in Canada is something he will never forget. "I'm extremely honoured to win the Sullivan Trophy. It was very exciting just to be nominated with great players like Joel Ward and Paul Deniset, who both had incredible seasons. This is something that I will always remember and cherish."
This is Lodge's first selection as an All Canadian although he was also a member of the CIS All Rookie Team in 2001-2002. The fourth year General Arts student from Red Deer, Alberta led Lakehead and OUA defensemen in regular season scoring with 5 goals and 15 assists, including four goals on the powerplay. He was also chosen for this year's Universiade Team Canada OUA squad where he was second in defensemen scoring at the tournament with 2 goals and 3 assists.
Lodge said being selected is a great honour. "It's awesome to be named to a team like this and I'm very proud. But, I'd also like to say that the three of us getting these awards is a result of our whole team's effort and hard work this season."
This is Richards' second selection to the All Canadian Team as he was a First Team All Canadian last season. It is also his third consecutive year of CIS Honours as he was also named to the CIS All Rookie Team in 2002-03. The third year General Arts student from Kenora led Lakehead in regular season scoring with 12 goals and 19 assists in only 18 games, good for 1.72 ppg; among the leaders in the CIS. Richards also played on the Universiade Team Canada OUA squad and finished second in round robin scoring with 3 goals and 6 assists behind linemate Joel Scherban, and tied for third overall.
Richards said being named for the second consecutive year is a thrill. "It's an honour to be named to the All Canadian team with such a tremendous group of players from three great conferences."
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said he was very proud of the three Thunderwolves stars. "These three student athletes have been great players and leaders on our team. Joel has been the heart and soul of this team since Day One, he has never taken a practice or game off, and he gives 100% effort all the time. He is a pleasure to coach and we know that we always have a good shot of winning with Joel leading our team. E