AS the University of Minnesota-Duluth celebrates their first-ever NCAA Frozen Four title in school history, after defeating Michigan 3-2 in overtime on Saturday, a pair of area athletes have joined the list of players from Northwestern Ontario who were part of a U.S. collegiate national championship team at the division one level.
Travis Oleksuk of Thunder Bay, who scored once and made a terrific pass from behind the net to set-up the game winner, along with Joe Basaraba of Fort Frances became the first duo from the region to be on the same Frozen Four winning side since 1997.
That year saw a trio of Thunder Bay natives in Brad Williamson as well as the Hoogsteen brothers; Kevin and David, all play important roles in the University of North Dakota’s title run that season.
UMD also now becomes one of three schools that has won NCAA D-I hockey titles in both men’s and women’s competition joining fellow WCHA members Minnesota and Wisconsin.
MJHL CHAMPS: As the Portage Terriers celebrated their third Manitoba Jr. Hockey League Turnbull Cup title in four years Saturday they did so with an area flavour.
Helping Portage defeat the Selkirk Steelers 4-1 in the championship series were Cody Kostecki and Andrew Wiebe of Thunder Bay along with Kyle Turgeon of Fort Frances.
Costecki and Wiebe both amassed 10 points apiece in 17 postseason contests while Turgeon managed eight including scoring the game-winning goal Saturday in a 5-2 home ice victory.
The Terriers will now play the winner of the Saskatchewan Jr. Hockey League final between La Ronge and Yorkton for the right to complete in the Royal Bank Cup in Camrose, Alta., which gets underway April 30 and runs through May 8.
PWHL CROWN: Schreiber’s Jenna McParland had a goal and two assists to help her Toronto Aeros defeat the Mississauga Chiefs 5-3 last week to capture the Provincial Women’s Hockey League crown during their championship tournament staged in London, Ont.
McParland, who is committed to play NCAA hockey at Minnesota-Duluth, led all PWHL players in postseason goals with 10 and also finished second overall in playoff points with 15 in eight games.
She was only held off the score sheet once in those eight contests helping Toronto go unbeaten en route to the title.
WCHA BOUND: Originally slated to attend Dartmouth on scholarship, Fort Frances native Ryan Faragher will now be competing instead in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in the fall.
The talented goaltender has opted to attend school at St. Cloud State in Minnesota where he will play for the Huskies.
Now in his final season of junior hockey and manning the pipes for the defending North American Hockey League champion Bismarck Bobcats, Faragher is set to take to the ice Tuesday in a series finale with the Alexandria Blizzard.
The best-of-five affair is tied 2-2 with Bismarck having to go on the road as they look to advance to the next round.
The only other player from the area still alive in the NAHL postseason is Jordan Davis of Devlin.
He too will take part in a series-deciding contest Tuesday as his Topeka Road Runners host Wichita Falls if the fifth and final game of that set.