Once again there were plenty of local accomplishments to boast about in the sports world in 2017, led by the phenomenal goaltending of the city’s own Matt Murray.
Here’s our top 10 sports stories for the year:
- Matt Murray did it again. The Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender won a second Stanley Cup in just his second NHL season, returning in the Eastern Conference Championship after injuring his hand earlier in the playoffs. He became the first goaltender in NHL history to win two titles while technically still a rookie.
- The Under 18 Baseball World Cup brought the future of the sport to Thunder Bay’s Port Arthur Stadium and Baseball Central for the second time in seven years. A dominant American squad rolled through the 12-team tournament and easily captured the championship. Canada finished fourth, losing out to Japan in the bronze-medal game.
- The Thunder Bay Chill advanced to the Premier Development League championship game, falling 2-1 to the host Charlotte Eagles after taking an early 1-0 lead. It was the fourth title-game appearance for the Chill since 2008.
- The Thunder Bay Border Cats were forced to the road for a couple of weeks to start the season, after renovations to Port Arthur Stadium were not completed in time. The team lost 10 home dates and was forced to find neutral-site locations to play. They later reached a settlement with the city.
- Johnny Ruiz came out of nowhere on Sunday to capture the fourth edition of the Staal Foundation Open, his 13-under 275 good for a one-shot win over Max McGreevy, Kramer Hickok and Chad Ramey. Ruiz would go on to earn a Web.com Tour card.
- Curler Krista McCarville earned her way into the Canadian women’s Olympic curling trials, but came up short in her bid to represent her country in South Korea in 2018, finishing the week with a 4-4 record. Hometown favourite Rachel Homan captured the title. McCarville’s year also included a return trip to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts playoffs, where she finished fourth.
- The Lakehead Thunderwolves parted ways with men’s basketball coach Manny Furtado in late December, but gave no explanation for deciding to let the combative bench boss go.
- On a happier basketball note, former Lakehead University men’s basketball coach Scott Morrison landed a pretty nice gig as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Boston Celtics. Morrison, who led the Thunderwolves to four straight national championship weekend appearances between 2010 and 2013, spent the past two years coaching the Celtics D-League team, the Maine Red Claws.
- Trevor Bonot’s squad captured silver in October at the World Mixed Curling Championship in Switzerland. The result came 11 months after his team took home the Canadian title. The Thunder Bay rink was runner-up to Scotland at the event.
- The Churchill Trojans went out on a high note, capturing their final high school football championship with a 37-26 win over Hammarsjkold and followed it up with a 36-14 win over West Ferris at the Northern Bowl in Hamilton.
