Sports Briefs for November 2015

Headrick joins university squad

As it turned out, Owen Headrick was indeed ready to make the jump up to the NCAA ranks. (The 18-year-old defenceman from the Garden River First Nation in northern Ontario is a rookie with the Lake Superior State Lakers, a Division 1 hockey squad based in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. (Headrick had spent the past two seasons playing for another Sault Ste. Marie club, but on the Canadian side of the border. He starred with the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds, members of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. (During his rookie season with the Thunderbirds, Headrick collected 31 points in 56 regular season matches and was selected as the league’s top rookie. (As for last season, Headrick appeared in just 13 regular season contests as he missed the majority of the campaign recovering from shoulder surgery last October. (Headrick though certainly made his presence felt in the post-season. He earned 20 points, including 12 goals in 14 games. Besides leading the Thunderbirds to a league championship, Headrick was also named as the MVP of the NOJHL playoffs. (Since he had a couple of years of junior eligibility remaining, coupled with the fact he missed most of last season, there was some speculation whether Headrick would join the Lakers for the 2015-16 campaign. (The Lake Superior State coaching staff, however, obviously felt Headrick could contribute to its program right away. (After a pair of exhibition games and a tournament in Maine, Headrick and his Lakers’ teammates kicked off their regular season on Oct. 16 with a non-conference contest against Northern Michigan. (Headrick, a 5-foot-11, 186-pounder, accepted a full scholarship offer from the Lakers. He is planning to major in Criminal Justice while at Lake Superior State. The university is the closest Division 1 school to his home.

Pats sign Many Guns

The Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats have signed a player this season with a name almost as imposing as his size. Trygve Many Guns, a 6-foot-4, 239-pound forward, is now toiling with the Pats.  (Many Guns, who is from Alberta’s Siksika Nation, already has considerable size. And chances are he’s not done growing yet as he does not turn 17 until this December. (This past season Many Guns was a member of the UFA Bisons, a Midget AAA club in Strathmore, Alta. He helped the Bisons win the Alberta Midget Hockey League championship. (Many Guns had 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 34 regular season contests with the Bisons. And in the playoffs he earned four points, including three goals, in 13 matches.

Iroquois Nationals win silver

The Iroquois Nationals once again had to settle for silver medals at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships (WILC). (Canada defeated the Iroquois Nationals 12-8 in the gold-medal match of this year’s tournament, which concluded Sept. 27 in Syracuse. (This marked the fourth time the world men’s tournament, which is held every four years, has been staged. (Canada has won the gold medal at all four tournaments. And the Iroquois Nationals have been the silver medallists each time. (Also, the United States has finished third at this event every time. The Americans convincingly beat Israel 15-4 in this year’s bronze-medal battle. (Both of the WILC medal games were staged at the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University. (This year’s global tournament, which attracted 13 squads, was a historic one. That’s because it was the first world championship to be staged on Haudenosaunee land. (The majority of the round-robin and playoff contests were held at a pair of venues on the Onondaga Nation, the Village Pavilion and the Onondaga Arena. (Other countries that participated at the tournament were England, Ireland, Czech Republic, Australia, Finland, Turkey, Germany, Serbia and Switzerland.

Water Polo Program introduced in Winnipeg

The Win City Royals Water Polo organization is providing an introduction to the sport. The program is geared towards children aged five to 12 who live in the northern sections of Winnipeg. These areas include numerous Aboriginal families. (The program kicked off with a 10-week session on Sept. 19, which will continue until Nov. 21. Weekly sessions will be held. And there’s a chance teams will be formed to compete at a tournament in November. (A second session, lasting 15 weeks, will then run from Jan. 17 through April 20. Depending on the number of youth who sign up, teams might also be formed to participate in a winter league for the second session.