Lakehead Basketball Gets Political Props

Easily the biggest strength of the Lakehead Basketball program is the continued support of the alumni, current students and of course the people and community of Thunder Bay.

Never has this been more evident than during the past season where the team played before a number of home sell-outs in en route to a 12-1 record at the Thunderdome amidst the best atmosphere in CIS basketball.

Since the completion of a history making 2010-11 season the team has been recognized by some of its more powerful supporters. This past week the team accepted congrats and awards at both Thunder Bay City Hall and the Office of the President of Lakehead University. Monday, March 28 the team rubbed elbows with the likes of Mayor Keith Hobbs and councilmen Hebert, Ruberto and MacKinnon while the following day we were treated to a custom made cake and afternoon celebration with Dr. Brian Stevenson, the President of L.U.

Recently the team drew mention in the 'biggest house in province' as local MPP Bill Mauro made time to note the team's accomplishments. Below is the transcript of what was read before the house as well as a video link to the action on March 9, 2011.

WATCH THE STATEMENT ON VIDEO

The Transcript:

Hansard - March 9^th, 2011

LAKEHEAD THUNDERWOLVES

Mr. Bill Mauro: Last weekend, for the very first time in the school’s history, Thunder Bay’s Lakehead University Thunderwolves won the Wilson Cup, which is the OUA championship for men’s basketball.

During the semifinal action, the Thunderwolves defeated the University of Ottawa 71-69 and followed that up in the finals with a 77-62 victory over the top-ranked team, the Carleton Ravens, the first loss in league play of the year for the Ravens.

Led by Coach Scott Morrison, the Lakehead Thunderwolves are now off to Halifax, where they’ll make their second straight appearance at the national championships.

I’ve been a fan of basketball for a long time and I played the game for many years, so I’m especially excited by the Thunderwolves’ victory. When I was in high school, I remember watching the great Lakehead Norwesters teams of the 1970s. The current Thunderwolves have brought back that tradition of excellence. They’ve shown that they can take on the best teams in Ontario. It’s fantastic to see our men’s program back competing at a high level.

I want to congratulate the entire team for their hard work and their excellent performance. Special congratulations to the local standouts Andrew Hackner and Matt Schmidt, who have contributed to seeing the first OUA basketball championship banner hung from the rafters of Lakehead University.

Tipoff for the Thunderwolves’ first game at the national championship is 2:15 p.m. this Friday, against the fifth-seed Trinity Western Spartans. I’ll be cheering for you, and so will the rest of Thunder Bay.