Holiday Hoops Preview: Women in Halifax, Men in Winnipeg

Lakehead Basketball will be in action out of province over the holiday break, with the women’s team travelling east to the Thunder Selects Holiday Classic in Halifax, and the men’s team heading west to Winnipeg for the Wesmen Classic. Both events are tournament-style, not round-robin, and feature teams from the OUA, AUS, and Canada West divisions.

Women (3-5)

The T-Wolves’ first game is against the CIS #4 Saint Mary’s Huskies (5-1), who were ranked as high as #2 earlier in the season. Following that they will face either UPEI or Carleton. On the other side of the tournament draw is Dalhousie, Brock, Acadia and Winnipeg.

Webcast coverage of the Thunder Selects Classic will be available via AUS TV. Please note all game times are local Halifax time (Atlantic).

Coach Jon Kreiner:

“We’re excited to return as defending champs to one of the top CIS Holiday tournaments. Brandon Rafuse does a tremendous job of hosting an 8 team tournament the way it ought to be hosted with all the extras that puts it above the rest. Our first opponent St Mary’s is a very athletic and experienced team that was at nationals last year. They have one of the best defences in the CIS and take very good care of the ball. They have a number of weapons on the offensive end making it hard to key in on just one player. Our goal against them, as it will be for the whole tournament, will be to develop as a team, shore up some weaknesses and get ready for league play. We need  to become a more consistent team at both ends of the floor.”

Men (3-5)

The Wesmen Classic has traditionally been an annual event for the men’s team, with Lakehead capturing tournament banners in ’89, ’97, ’09 and ’12.

The Brandon Bobcats (0-6) represent the ‘Wolves first opponent, who will be followed by either Acadia or MacEwan. On the other side of the draw are Winnipeg, Manitoba, Lethbridge and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).

Webcast coverage of the entire Wesmen Classic will be available via Canada West TV. Please note all game times are local Winnipeg time (Central).

Coach Manny Furtado:

“‎We’re looking forward to the Wesmen Classic and playing some teams we haven’t faced this year. Playing three games in three days will give our guys plenty of opportunities to get quality minutes before the regular season resumes in January.”

Monday, Dec 28

Tuesday, Dec 29

Wed, Dec 30