The 2005-06 Thunderwolves hockey team is the only squad in Lakehead hockey history to have hoisted the Queens Cup trophy (emblematic of the OUA championship) and will be inducted into the LU Athletics Wall of Fame on October 3.
After a regular season filled with its share of ups and downs, the Thunderwolves finished the OUA slate with a record of 13-9-2, but this team pulled together to make an amazing playoff run that resulted in a trip to the National Championships in Edmonton, Alberta in late March of 2006.
The Wolves knocked off the York Lions in two straight games in the opening round of the OUA playoffs, but both contests were very close. Lakehead came from behind to edge the Lions 4-3 in game one at York, and then won 5-4 in overtime back in Thunder Bay to complete the series sweep. Joel Scherban was instrumental in leading the Wolves in this series, and Erik Lodge notched the O.T. winner in game two.
In the second round, the Thunderwolves eliminated the arch-rival Western Mustangs two games to one. Lakehead took the first game from the Mustangs with a 4-3 overtime decision in Thunder Bay before the series shifted to London for games two and three. Western rebounded with a convincing 6-2 win in game two and had the momentum heading into the rubber match, but the resilient Wolves responded with a 3-0 victory to capture the series. Jason Lange scored twice and Chris Whitley recorded the shutout in the deciding game, while Mike Werhstedt and Shandor Alphonso also made key plays in the series versus Western.
Lakehead met the Laurier Golden Hawks in the West Division finals, and the Thunderwolves drew first blood with a 4-1 win at home in the series opener. The Hawks evened the series by downing the Wolves 4-2 in game two at Laurier, but Lakehead replied with a 4-2 road victory in game three to eliminate the Hawks. Mike Jacobsen, Dan Speer and Mark Robinson were major contributors for the Wolves in capturing the division title.
Now Lakehead was set to host the East Division champion McGill Redmen in a one-game, winner take all showdown for the Queens Cup at the Fort William Gardens on March 11, 2006.
It turned out to be one of the most memorable games ever played in the Gardens, where the atmosphere was absolutely electric on that special night. Tobias Whelan opened the scoring with a highlight-reel goal in the first period which proved to be the winner. Goalie Grant McCune was superb in net and Joel Scherban was named the MVP of the game as the Thunderwolves won 4-0 before a sold-out crowd of 3,735 to secure Lakeheads first-ever OUA title.
The team went on to the win the silver medal at the CIS National Championship by beating Acadia 4-3 and Saskatchewan 4-2 before being edged 3-2 by Alberta in the championship final played at Rexall Place, the home of the Edmonton Oilers.
Mike Jacobsen was brilliant at the Nationals, and the heroic efforts of Jeff Richards and Chris Whitley resulted in the both of them being named to the CIS all-tournament team.
With Head Coach Pete Belliveau at the helm and assistants Darrin Nicholas, Bryan Duce, Dan Bissonnette and Paul Mackett helping to lead the way, the key to the success of this club was truly a team effort. Andrew Brown, Murray Magill, Brad Priestlay, Craig Priestlay, Matt Jacques, Hugo Lehoux, Dan Rogers, Mike Self, Drew Kivell, and Steve Rawski all made significant contributions throughout that championship season.