The most famous trophy in team sports paid a visit to Thunder Bay in July, the top local team canned its coach and brought a legend back into the fold to guide the club and the Olympics were front and centre for a pair of local hockey players.
Here is our look back at the top 10 sports stories of 2009.
- Thunderwolves host nationals, fire coach: After going two-and-out at the Cavendish University Cup at Fort William Gardens, the Lakehead Thunderwolves men’s hockey program veered off in an entirely new direction, axing coach Don McKee and replacing him with former CIS MVP Joel Scherban, who served five years as Wolves captain from 2001-2006.
- Staal brings Stanley Cup home: Pittsburgh star Jordan Staal shared a portion of his day with the cherished chalice with his fans, spending a couple of hours on July 21 at the Fort William Gardens as thousands gathered for a look at Lord Stanley’s mug.
- McCarville’s Olympic bid: Skip Krista McCarville and teammates Lorraine Lang, Kari MacLean and Tara George finished a respectable third at the Olympic curling trials in Edmonton in December. Earlier in the year the foursome also won its third Ontario Scotties in four years.
- AHL dream lives on: Businessmen Keith McCullough and Anthony LeBlanc vow to bring an American Hockey League team to Thunder Bay, if their bid to buy the Phoenix Coyotes is accepted by the NHL and the city agrees to move forward with a new multiplex facility.
- Olympians named: Haley Irwin got the news first, then as the year drew to a close, Eric Staal joined her. The Thunder Bay natives were named to the Canadian women’s and men’s Olympic hockey teams respectively. Freestyle skier Amber Peterson will learn her fate later this month. Skier Sean Crooks failed in his bid, while 2006 hockey gold medalist Katie Weatherston will have to wait until 2014 as she recovers from a concussion.
- All-star performance: The Northwoods League hosted its annual all-star game at Port Arthur Stadium, the lone bright spot in a season the team would probably rather forget. Woeful attendance, combined with a 9-25 first-half record, did little to inspire baseball fans to come out to the park.
- Stark Raven mad: The Lakehead Thunderwolves basketball team has returned to prominence in a big way, never so apparent than a thrilling 76-73 win over Carleton on Nov. 27, a victory that helped vault the team into the top 10 for the first time in decades.
- Sixth sense: Golfers Barry Caland and Robert Cumming staged a heated battle for player of the decade honours, with Caland just edging out his rival, thanks in part to a record-tying sixth Strathcona Invitational title. Cumming took the district’s other two majors of the season.
- Playoff bound again: The Thunder Bay Chill couldn’t quite recapture the magic of 2008, when they won the Premier Development League championship, but they did manage to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
- Gridiron redemption: The Churchill Trojans, who lost a heartbreaker in 2008, took the high school senior football crown in 2009, stunning previously undefeated St. Patrick in the championship final.
