A Big Thank You

From Coach Morrison and the staff with Lakehead Men's Basketball, a large thank-you to all the loyal supporters, alumni, Back Court Club members and family for the impressive showing of support and dedication to the team this past weekend in Ottawa and of course, for the entire season.

While we fell short of competing with the top 4-5 teams in the country, without question this past season has been highlighted by many big wins and milestones that will only serve as motivation for the team to make the next step in 2010-2011 and get into that group of 4-5 national contenders.

We have some work to do, and are proud of this progress thus far. It is because of the vast support group that we do have known as "Thunderwolves Nation" that will lead us to believe that anything is possible and to set our off-season goals as high as possible.

Stay tuned to the blog over the next couple of months for recruiting news, spring league information (coming in May) and general team news.

Lakehead vs. Cape Breton - Fourth Quarter

Capers open with two to push the lead to 20. Nagy gets a strong offensive board, is fouled, and hits both FTs. Cape Breton has a guy on their bench who looks like former Michigan State PG Mateen Cleaves, just an observation. James Dorsey is fouled by Hornby and heads to the line for two. The PA announcer is calling him “J-Smoove” – pretty sure that’s Josh Smith. It’s confusing. Yoos with a big block on Jasper and JJ makes another aggressive drive in transition to draw the foul and hits some FTs. Yoos makes a nice post up basket and Carter forces a quick turnover on the subsequent inbounds. Nagy makes a strong baseline drive but his layup gets pined against the glass. Another stop for Lakehead as Hornby tosses a nice outlet pass up to Jones. The Capers’ McGarrigle follows JJ in pursuit as he bobbles the ball out of bounds. Next LU possession goes to JJ for a sweet 3-ball but Burrows answers with a nice hook shot. Capers 77 Wolves 55. A lot of people came dressed as chairs this weekend and I’m intrigued by the lore of the Halifax championships. Nagy misses a 3-pointer, but CB’s Jaspers-Fayer misses worse. He does not keep his hand in the air about that shot. Nagy hits a three and is knocked into the LU bench – no call, must have been a fadeaway. Yoos grabs another towering defensive rebound, followed by an offensive board and the foul but misses the FTs. Fraser makes a nice move at halfcourt and streaks in for the layup. “Keep playing,” says Scott from the sidelines. Yoos is still hitting the glass hard. He gets a nice ovation as Scott brings Seb on in relief. JJ is down a badly hurt on the defensive but the refs keep the play going as Capers get a layup. JJ heads to the bench as Scott rushes onto the floor to check on him. It’s a 23-point lead, you’ve got to draw the line at some point, call a timeout, anything – JJ doesn’t fake injuries. Hornby hits an NBA 3-ball with no shot clock on. Game over, Capers win 87-65. JJ is the player of the game and deserves it after dropping 14 points and sacrificing his body for the team. He’s hurt, probably broke his ribs, yet gets off the bench to congratulate Cape Breton in the post game handshake. What a competitor, what a sportsman. The tournament is over for Lakehead, a learning experience absolutely, but this team has made all of Thunder Bay proud and has brought excitement back to the University. Lakehead often has a defeatist attitude, but not anymore. This team is for real and they will without any doubt be back on this stage soon.

Lakehead vs. Cape Breton - Third Quarter

Yoos grabs an offensive board and finishes strong to draw the foul. 13-point deficit for Lakehead. Great drive through the lane by JJ against to two defenders as he gets hacked. The man is fearless but looks a bit sore and misses his two FTs. Lakehead gets the ball back and King is fed over the top for a dunk that bring the fans to their feet. Cape Breton gets two at the other end. 46-33. No box out by LU as Fraser grabs a board and is fouled by King. Refs issue another technical as Roger screams from the opposite end: “Wah! Wah! Wah! Call an ambulance!” The impartial tournament organizers have a laugh. Capers go on a run with two threes and a Paris Carter dunk to push the lead to 56-33. Scott calls a timeout as a Chocolate Milk ad pops up on the scoreboard. In my experience drinking chocolate milk before a basketball game is trouble, but hey, maybe that’s why I’m writing and not playing. Back in the court Yoos is being a beast on the boards but LU’s shots don’t fall. Burrows comes back with a baseline floater for Cape Breton. Carter feeds Yoos down low and he draws the foul. It’s about time as Yoos attempted on one field goal in the first half. Yoos hits one FT then takes a seat on the bench as McIntosh comes in for more burn. Carter with an uncharacteristically sloppy entry pass for the turnover. Nice board for McIntosh – he’s really working hard out there. JJ hits a three but Cape Breton gets two back. Great fake spin by McIntosh but his low hook shot is blocked from the weak side. On the next possession, McIntosh finds space in the lane and gets it to a wide-open Thomson for a nice mid-range jumper. The teams are trading baskets right now. Hornby is fouled on the fastbreak but misses both free throw. Yoos grabs huge one-handed rebound and follows. Back on D, McIntosh then Yoos get blocks but Hornby is called for the foul as he hustles after the loose ball. After some FTs it’s 64-41 Capers. Bonus situation now for both teams as Cam is fouled and hits both from the line. Turnover for Lakehead but Carter responds with a huge block from the behind followed by a pull-up three from Hornby. Capers throw up an air ball and the LU fans let them hear it. Back the other way the buzzer goes off for no reason as Carter responds with a running hook in reaction to the noise. An understandable miss but Lakehead gets it back with 1.6 seconds for the baseline inbounds. Yoos gets a clear look from 12 feet but it rattles off the rim as time expires. Capers 66 Thunderwolves 47 at the end of three.

Lakehead vs. Cape Breton - Second Quarter

Nice stop for LU and then a 3-ball on the other end by Hornby. 16-11 Capers. Scott continues to use a variety of players as JJ, Yoos, Hornby, Nagy and Schmidt are on the floor. I haven’t seen that unit play together all year. Capers continue to build a lead, going up 25-15 after a corner 3-pointer. Seb is in and gets tripped up after making a nice backdoor cut to the hoop; hits 1-2 FTs. Things are getting chippy in the Lakehead end and the mood on the sidelines is getting intense. Nagy makes a strong drive to the net to two but the Capers’ Roper responds with a three and walks the length of the floor with his hand in the air; the celebration seems like a bit of overkill considering it’s the second quarter of a consolation game. Jones makes great drive to the basket and is fouled but his layup somehow rattles out after looking like it would fall. He hits both FTs. Scott gets a technical after pointing out the Capers alleged utilization of three-in-the-key. On the baseline, Roger Quirion and Ryan Sinninghe are making this feel like home with their vocal support of Scott. Greg makes a great steal with some full court pressure and feeds JJ for a quick layup – great play from two guys who have another three years to play together. Both are already so good, it’s going to be exciting to see where they end up as CIS players. Capers lead 36-21. Nagy with another take inside for two. On D, LU gets a stop and McIntosh crashes the boards hard to draw the foul. Bonus situation. Anthony goes 1-2 from the line. Nice 3-ball John-Proctor for Cape Breton despite some tight D from Seb. 39-24 Capers. Greg responds with a beautiful baseline spin and layup to beat the shot clock. In the LU zone, Nagy plays some great post D, not biting on Carter’s pump fakes. He draws Carter into a travel violation which sparks some “ref encouragement” from the Lakehead bench. The refs T-up the entire team, something I’ve actually never seen before. Are we having fun now? The Capers fans are starting to heckle a bit, but then again, they should be playing in the afternoon according to the rankings. This simmer down a bit and the halftime score is 44-29 for the Capers, just where Lakehead is comfortable.

Lakehead vs. Cape Breton - First Intermission

Dance off between the Capers’ mascot and one of their fans to Spirit of the West’s “Home for a Rest.” Seems a bit too early in the day to hear this song. Looking at the stats, Scott’s earlier comments about getting inside looks are obviously warranted as LU attempted eight of their 13 field goal attempts from beyond the arc. They’re shooting 23.1% from the field. The ‘Wolves aren’t typically going to shoot in the 50% range, but they need to sharpen up.

Lakehead vs. Cape Breton - First Quarter

The boys are hustling off the get go and are playing with determination. The 11:00 a.m. start is a bit of a challenge, especially with Cape Breton have the extra time to sleep relative to the Atlantic time zone. Off the bat, Thomson hits a three to open scoring. Cape Breton gets back with seven straight points including two consecutive open layups. Thomson striped on the other end and back the other way the Capers’ PG Dorsey and F Jaspers-Fayer run a nice pick-and-roll but J-F blows the layup. McIntosh checks in for Thomson. McIntosh didn’t see much time yesterday, but the ‘Wolves might need some athleticism. Searle air balls and 3-point attempt; that’s two major misses from outside for LU after Carter missed one earlier. Timeout Lakehead and Scott makes it clear that he wants the ball going inside. Yoos shot 5-7 yesterday but seven shots isn’t enough for him. Capers 11 LU 3. Clear travel by Fraser missed by the crew in front of the LU bench – the fans saw it. Another CB layup and Lakehead looks flat. Searle responds with a big 3-ball – he needed that after missing his first few shots. Schmidt is getting ready to check in with Hornby and King as Scott goes deep into his bench early. Nine guys have already seen playing time in the opening eight minutes and Nagy follows suit a few possessions later. Lakehead goes zone and forces and turnover then King goes the other way for two. Deep two from Hornby rattles off the rim. Good ball denial and then on-the-ball D by Nagy as he forces a tough baseline drive by the Capers guard. At the end of one it’s Cape Breton 16 Lakehead 8.

Game 2: Lakehead vs. Cape Breton - Pregame

After a tough loss yesterday to UBC, the ‘Wolves have a great opportunity against Cape Breton to earn a win in a CIS Championship game and to play Sunday in the fifth place game. Should be interesting to see how the first half works out for LU after they went up on the Thunderbird through 20 minutes yesterday. For the Capers, I’m not sure if they’ll be hungry for a win or deflated after an upset yesterday against Calgary. In an interesting subplot, this game pits our Joe Jones against Cape Breton’s Paris Carter, two guys who were guided to their respective schools by Benny Edison who also helped Scott and his program land Kiraan Posey and Warren Thomas with former Capers stars Eric Breland heading east.

Fourth Quarter

Big throwdown from UBC’s Burke to open final Q. Lakehead went on a 15-0 run last week against Ottawa and will need a similar effort now. Bath hits another two from inside as UBC leads 62-43. The Thunderbirds are a big team, but then again, Lakehead is consistently the smaller team on the floor in their games. JJ air balls a three but is encourage by Searle from the sidelines: “Get your rhythm JJ, get your rhythm.” Searle is without a doubt the heart of Lakehead basketball – a great teammate and one of the hardest workers in the country. Nagy hits two FTs and the lead is down to 17. Big stop for Lakehead as Yoos gets the board but the Wolves turn it over. Another basket from Bath who is easily the biggest guy on the floor. Yoos responds with an and-1 finish in close as Malish is undercut trying to go for the block. One of those rare moments where the guy called for the foul gets the worst of it. Another stop for LU, and they need a hoop. Searle cranks it in from long range – HUGE bucket. And another stop on great D from Carter who gets a piece of Whyte’s shot. Back the other way, Jones takes it to the rack and finishes. 64-52 with 4:59 and Lakehead is not going away. The last few possessions typify what the Wolves’ season has been like. This is a team that embraces the underdog role and will never stop playing. Tough play tough as Carter came inches from picking up a huge steal but Yu hit the pocket 3-ball for UBC. 67-52 for the Thunderbirds. Whyte extends the lead to 18 points with a hoop and the harm. Double technical as Carter forces the jump ball on Whyte who responds with a forearm to Greg’s throat. The CIS Player of the Year Whyte is leaving his requisite sportsmanship at the door. Great line coming from hecklers row: “Are you a wildcard ref?” These fans are fantastic and have burst into a chant of “Overrated! Overrated!” as Whyte steps to the charity stripe for two. Amazing pull up 3-ball from Hornby who just came off the bench. McIntosh is also in and gets a quick two inside. 72-57 UBC. JJ is draped all over Whyte defensively – he’s going to be contributing to this program for years to come. LaBranche is back on the line shooting FTs – Lakehead’s fans are heckling louder than UBC’s fans are cheering. Nice take to the hoop by McIntosh as he’s fouled. Good to see him getting some burn as he continues to develop. One minute left with LU down by 18. Final three-pointer from UBC to close the game. UBC 79 Lakehead 58. Tough game for Lakehead as they were on the wrong end of a second half comeback. Yoosrie Salhia is the Lakehead Player of the Game; Whyte for UBC. Rautins and Black are silenced – clearly Lakehead fans.

Third Quarter

Lakehead looks tight as UBC opens the half on an 8-0 run to take the lead 2:30 in to the third. Morrison calls a much-needed timeout as UBC’s scarf-adorned fans start getting back into it. Honestly though, who wears a team scarf at a basketball game? Out of the timeout, LU goes with Searle, Carter, Jones, King and Salhia, they need a stop but don’t get one as LaBrache extends the UBC lead to four. Jones is called for the charge on offence, then King is whistled down on D. Bath hits a jumper to make it 38-32 UBC. King had a good look from outside but it didn’t fall; Lakehead has now gone over four minutes without a point to open the half. UBC looks confident for the first time since very early in the game. Deflating breakaway dunk for Watson off the steal. JJ is demolished in mid air on an aggressive drive to the hoop – no call. LaBranche picks up a steal on Jones from behind and goes in the layup. Another UBC steal and fastbreak basket. 46-32 UBC as the Thunderbirds continue to control play in the third. Morrison calls a timeout and assistant coach Evan Woodland has dropped the suit jacket – it’s gut check time. Looking at the two lineups, UBC has the size advantage at every position. Lakehead needs to be faster than them. On cue, Greg Carter blows through the lane for a layup and LU’s first two points of the half. UBC responds with four quick points. It’s now 51-34 UBC. Great drive by Hackner for a left-handed layup. Carter harasses Whyte into a tough shot and a big shot. LaBranche responds with a steal and layup. 53-36 as Hackner is fouled and heads to the line. Misses both but LU gets it back. Yoos get the hoop and the harm as UBC holds a team meeting around him in the paint – great play and the FT added for the traditional 3-point play. LU gets the stop and JJ is fouled on the rebound attempt. JJ hits both and is having a great game with 12 points. 53-41. Salhia called for the foul as Nathan Yu hits both from the line. Thomson is in for Yoos who’s been working as hard as anyone. Great play by Carter as he draws the offensive foul on Whyte who now has 3 PF. One minute left in the quarter. Lakehead is hitting the offensive boards hard – they want this one badly. Fresh 24 as Lakehead gets it back and Nagy makes a nice drive for two. UBC answers with a 3-ball courtesy of LaBranche to make it 57-43 through three quarters. Time to cue the Heart-Attack Pack for a fourth quarter comeback.

Halftime

Watched the first half highlights in the media centre here at Scotiabank Place – Lakehead has hit some impressive shots. You can hear after each one of them a loud applause from the audience. Again, Lakehead has some great fans who made the long trip to be here. Plenty of former Wolves players in the crowd as well including second all-time leading scorer and all-Canadian Dan Zapior who now lives in Ottawa and Ryan Sinninghe who has upheld a high standard of heckling at the Thunderdome in recent years since finishing his LU career. Back to the game.

Second Quarter continued

Out of a timeout, JJ just misses an NBA 3-pointer. I think he knows Leo Rautins is scouting; JJ needs his Canadian citizenship first. Now a seven-point lead as Thomson hits a cool 3-ball. Big Seb nearly extended the lead as his 3-ball rattles out but picks up a great steal on the other end. JJ just misses a 25-foot shot by the slightest of margins. The Wolves’ fans are irate as JJ is called for a block on the other end; “he’s was standing there for hours,” shouted on fan. Great atmosphere as a few hundred Lakehead fans are making the 18,000-seat arena feel like home. 1:53 as Scott calls a timeout. WOW, Greg got what looked to be a clean block on Denny Dumas but is whistled down; 1-2 on the FTs as LU leads 29-23. Greg just his 1-2 FTs to get the lead back to seven. UBC turnover on another huge stand as LU could get this lead to double digits if they keep up their strong play. Two more LU FTs make it 32-23 but Seb is called for a foul back on D; Watson goes 1-2 as LU leads 32-24. UBC gets a basket back. At halftime Lakehead 32 UBC 26.

Second Quarter

Good start as JJ hits a bucket to give LU a one-point lead. UBC comes back with the next four points but that eggs on the fans. LaBranche just clunked a FT for UBC as the LU hecklers chant “Wildcard! Wildcard!” This is a pro-Lakheead crowd without a doubt. Big bucket for Greg; UBC now leads 19-18. Awesome perimeter defence as UBC needs 15 plus seconds to set their offence followed by a forced turnover by Thomson. Huge 3-pointer by JJ to put Lakehead, then another as Lakehead leads 24-19. LaBranche answers with a 3-ball of this own by Greg scores another two on a nice drive. 26-22 Lakehead as the Wolves aren’t waiting until the fourth quarter to make their move. Huge defensive stands as Whyte missed a contested layup with Greg Carter in his face. UBC grabs the O-rebound but Hackner makes great play taking the charge. This in Lakehead basketball! 26-22 for the Pack with 4:55 left in the first half.

First Intermission

Greg Boyle just schooled a UBC fan in a danceoff on the floor, hopefully the Wolves’ dominance continues into the game. Through one quarter, Yoos has five points to lead LU; Malish has 7 for UBC. The Wolves are controlling the boards against a big ‘Birds team 6-3 with the only two offensive boards of the game. Back to the game...

First Quarter continued

Great hustle from the good guys as King and Searle both hit the deck hard going for the steal at halfcourt. Searle just made a pair of FTs to pull within two points. Another great defensive stand as Yoos forced the jump ball. Salhia just added a FT; 10-9. 12-9 UBC now as King picked up a foul leading to two FTs. Teams just traded 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to make it 15-12. Strong move by Yoosrie to score despite a double team; followed immediately by a UBC offensive foul. Searle with a long 3-point miss as the first quarter ends. 15-14 UBC through 10 minutes.

First Quarter

A strong start as Lakehead opened with baskets from Hackner and Salhia. 4-4 right now as we approach the midway point of the quarter. This is definitely the pace that Lakehead wants as the high-powered offence of UBC has been slowed down. Missed assignment as Brent Malish gave UBC their first lead of the game 6-4 on an easy layup. The LU coaching staff is hot, the fans are fired up. Only Leo Rautins and Rod Black sitting five feet beside me seemed to be relaxed at this point. 4:56 now as Lakehead tries to settle down with a timeout. Quick basket out the pause from UBC’s Josh Whyte, followed by an open-court layup on their next possession. 10-4 UBC, and the Wolves need to control things again. Tough shot for Greg to try to beat shot clock; UBC are showing some aggressive perimeter D to disrupt Lakehead’s offensive flow. Jones is getting his first minutes, out there with Salhia, Searle, King and Nagy. JJ gets fouled and hits two FTs to make it 10-6 – he’s looking focused out there. Big steal by Nagy but LU turns it over right away. UBC is having trouble scoring in the halfcourt. If Lakehead can slow things down it’s they’ve got a great chance to pull off the second upset in two games today.

Pregame: #3 UBC vs. #6 Lakehead

A strong contingent of Lakehead fans gathered hour prior to tipoff for a pregame party here at the Scotiabank place. The anticipation extraordinary as friends, family and Wolves alum have watched this team progress from last place in 2008-09 to the top ranks of the CIS. Courtside, I just talked with Greg Boyle, a Lakehead grad who dove right into the heart of the Ottawa Gee-Gees fan zone last weekend as LU won OUA bronze. He’s jacked about this nationals experience and is courtside with a giant Scott Morrison head cutout. The spirit of the Thunderdome is definitely alive and well here in Ottawa. Franco Veneruzzo, former assistant coach with the team has about 100 Wolves fans in custom team t-shirts, while dozens of LU faithful made the long drive to see this historic moments. We just saw #7 Calgary knock off #2 Cape Breton. I’m ready for another upset.

The Final 8: Lakehead’s CIS Experience

It begins:
Hello Thunderwolves fans and thanks for reading. My name is Mike Bennett and I’m the Lakehead Thunderwolves Sports Information Director. Throughout the 2009-10 season I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing perhaps the greatest season in Lakehead men’s basketball history. Now, as they return to the national championships for the first time since 1977 I will follow the team from courtside, here at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario. A reminder that you can watch the ‘Wolves live throughout the weekend on SSN Canada. Let’s tip things off....

Carter, Searle and Morrison earn OUA recognition.

Thunderwolves players and coach nominated for CIS national awards.

http://oua.ca/sports/basketball/mbasketball/home/index.html?article_id=9954

Released today by the OUA.

'Wolves - UBC Game Preview

Please note: Lakehead SID Mike Bennett will be blogging from the CIS Final 8 tournament and be keeping this site updated throughout the weekend.

Here is the link to the L.U. athletics preview of the game and opening round.

http://www.thunderwolves.ca/?page=articleview&id=4354

"Wolves Head to Ottawa

'Wolves head east to CIS Final 8

With a short week of prep in the books; the team boards Porter Air for the trek to Ottawa and the final stage of the 2009-10 season. Check out the link below for game time, webcast information and a team preview by the Chronicle Journal.

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local_sports.php?id=250420

CIS Hotel and Ticket Info

* An update from Roger Quirion of the Back Court Club

To everyone,
Last minute news for everyone:
The room rate at the Marriot hotel is $129 per night and there is room availability. This hotel is the team’s hotel and is in downtown Ottawa. I am still working on determining if there is a shuttle service; it seems that there will be one but I have not been given a firm response yet. From my point of view I will be booking a room at the hotel. As room will be getting booked please contact Erin Seguin asap. Her email is Erin@htgsports.com and her toll free number is 1-800-668-5596x236.


Tickets- We have a great opportunity to book the VIP 100 level section either on a package or session basis. The only issue here is that everyone needs to contact me by early Tuesday morning (before 9:00am). I will charge the tickets to my credit card and will need cash or cheque when you get the tickets from me. Keep in mind that “package holders are entitled to show up at Finnigan’s bar (in Scotia place) one hour before the lakehead games . At that ime, upon proof of our package tickets, we are entitled to floor seating for the Lakehead game. After the Lakehead game is complete we have to return to the purchased seats in our section. Please send me an email with your ticket orders.

Looking forward to seeing you at the game.
Roger

Lakehead Seeded 6th for Final 8

L.U. Tips off vs. Can West power UBC at 2:30PM Friday.
2010 CIS MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Carleton University
March 19 to 21, 2010

Seeding:

1. Carleton University
2. Cape Breton University
3. University of British Columbia
4. University of Windsor
5. University of Saskatchewan
6. Lakehead University
7. University of Calgary
8. Université de Québec à Montréal

Friday March 19th
12:30 pm Cape Breton (2) vs. Calgary (7)
2:30 pm UBC (3) vs. Lakehead (6)
6:00 pm Windsor (4) vs. Saskatchewan (5)
8:00 pm Carleton (1) vs. UQAM (8)

Lakehead Beats Ottawa for CIS Final 8 Ticket

Big win for the program last night to upset Ottawa and punch our first ticket to the dance in over 3 decades. The game was a good representation of the team's best efforts throughout the season as it was a balanced offensive effort, consistent team defense and a fourth quarter comeback that got the job done for L.U.

We had great supporters at the game who were both vocal during the game and excited with the results. Stay tuned for information regarding the final 8 and see the previous post on this blog for some travel information for fans and supporters.

Here is the link to the game story, hope to see a big group of 'Wolves in Ottawa supporting the team. 3 more wins would mean a national title.

http://www.thunderwolves.ca/?page=articleview&id=4350

Thunderwolves Fans Head to Ottawa for CIS Championship

Please see below a note from Back Court Club member Roger Quirion who is spearheading some efforts to get a good group of supporters out to Ottawa for the 'Wolves first trip to the big dance since 1977.

Stay tuned to this site for updates, and schedule for the tournament as soon as it becomes known.


LAKEHEAD MENS BASKETBALL TEAM WINS BIG ON SAT. MARCH 13TH THEIR WIN OVER THE OTTAWA GEEGEES GIVES THEM THE BRONZE MEDAL IN THE OUA FINALS AND A BERTH AT THE CIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
For all of you Thunderwolves fans who want to join them at the CIS championship in Ottawa on March 19th , 20th and 21st please read the following announcements:

1. pprox two weeks ago I contacted Porter Airlines about the possibility of our TEAM making the CIS”s and asked them what they could do for us. They gratiously offered to provide 10% off all fares listed online. In order to do this Porter created a promo code which can be used when booking online. Bookings can be done immediately until March 20th provided the travel is done between and including March 18th – 22nd . The Code is LLBALL10. When you access the Porter website www.flyporter.com just below the search flight option on their webpage there is a place to insert the promo code. It must be entered and submitted prior to searching for flights. A successful application of the Promo Code will show the discounted price when selecting your flight options.

2. I sent an email to Scott Morrison at about 9:30 pm on Sat. night to find out when the team is leaving for Ottawa, when they are playing their first game and where they are staying. The reason for this is first not to conflict with their flight and to also see if we can book a flight on Friday morning which will allow us to make their Friday game. Finally it would be nice to be able to book rooms at the same hotel as the team. (assuming there is space and the hotel is close to Scotia Bank Place) Since we will not have transportation it probably would be much better to be within walking distance of Scotia Bank place. It is my intention to find a hotel /motel at a decent price and have everyone flying down to look at staying at the same place. Also once we know how many people are coming to Ottawa I want to contact the bus company taking care of the teams to see if they can provide us with transportation. I’m sure this would be much more economical than all of us trying to arrange our own transportation.
3. Without knowing when the Thunderwolves play their first game here is some info on flight times which will meet our needs. First to the most economic flights will be to depart on Friday March 19th and return on Monday March 22nd . the cost without the discount would be $ 140 & $ 175 respectively. With the discount the fare would be $ 283.5. The Sunday flight alone is $ 349 making the trip quite costly. Also if the Team plays in the first game on Friday we will need to be on the flight departing Thunder Bay at 6:55am on Friday morning.

4. As I have sent this email to Coach Morrison I am hoping he will post it on the Back Court blog. For anyone wanting join the team in Ottawa please be aware that I am trying to arrange for group transportation and economic lodging in Ottawa. As well I would like to contact the company selling tickets at Scotia Bank Place about getting a block of tickets so we can sit together as a group. Now if you want to find out about the ticket prices you can go to www.cis.ca and get the price for the individual game tickets as well as the packages. Therefore for the purposes of transportation, hotel accommodation and tickets please send me an email or call my office and leave a message as soon as possible. I will be making phone calls on Monday morning in an attempt to get the necessary information.

What a great season our boys have had this year. Regardless of the outcome of this coming weekend they certainly have come a long way since the beginning of the season. For myself I am looking to be pleasantly surprised by a team which continues to grow and mature at every game they play.
Looking forward to your response,
Roger

'Wolves Tip-Off vs. Ottawa U for final OUA berth

Lakehead will travel to Ottawa to play the University of Ottawa this coming Saturday with the winner securing the 3rd and final OUA spot in the CIS tournament March 19-21 at Scotiabank Place.

Both Ottawa and Lakehead lost their respective conference championships on Saturday and will battle it off in what will also be the OUA bronze medal game. Ottawa hosts as a result of a slightly better regular season record in OUA play and also beat Lakehead in the two teams only meeting of the season in TBay.

The game takes place @ Ottawa at 3:00PM eastern time. Stay tuned for broadcast information or details on alumni and supporters meeting to take in the game.

Here is the Link for the Game Preview:
http://www.thunderwolves.ca/?page=articleview&id=4348

'Wolves drop west final to Windsor....

But get new life!

The 'Wolves did not put forth their best effort of the season and the Lancers came out firing on all cylinders to win the OUA West championship out-right on Saturday night in Windsor.
Lakehead fought hard in the second half to make it a close game but were down more than 30 in the 3rd quarter. Congrats to Windsor for a great season and CIS Berth.

Here is the game report:
http://www.thunderwolves.ca/?page=articleview&id=4344

Because of Carleton winning the OUA East (and not needing the host CIS berth), Lakehead will next travel to Ottawa to play the Gee Gees in the OUA Bronze medal game with the winner earning a host bid to the CIS Final 8. Stay tuned for more details.

OUA West Hands Out the Hardware

The OUA West announced it's 2009-10 regular season award winners today.
The Thunderwolves were well represented with 5 members of the program earning recognition.

http://www.oua.ca/about/news/index.html?article_id=9878

L.U. Heads to Windsor for OUA West Final

The Lakeshow North travels to Windsor for the OUA West final on Saturday March 6 with tip-off scheduled for 7pm.

The team invites any alumni, supporters or friends in the southern Ontario area to make it down to the game if at all possible. Windsor is #7 in the latest CIS rankings while Lakehead is #8. Both teams shared the regular season OUA West crown with Windsor getting the hosting nod due to point differential.

Here is the L.U. Athletics game preview:
http://www.thunderwolves.ca/?page=articleview&id=4330

Lakehead Athletes of the Month

Greg Carter is Men's Basketball Athlete of the Month for February.

http://www.thunderwolves.ca/?page=articleview&id=4326