Looking back on the Blizzard dynasty
The Northern Manitoba Blizzard won the 2024-25 Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) championship by defeating the Dauphin Kings in the final. The series went the full seven games with the Blizzard winning game seven 2-1 in triple overtime on a goal by Quincy Supprien. The championship was the first since 2002-03 for The Pas based team formerly known as the OCN Blizzard.
The team was founded in 1996 by the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) located across the Saskatchewan River from the town of The Pas. Home games were played at the Gordon Lathlin Memorial Arena. Prince Edward Island-born Gardiner MacDougall was hired as head coach and director of hockey operations.
In the team's first season, the Blizzard lost in the league final to the St. James Canadians after finishing second during the regular season. The next year, the Blizzard lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion Winkler Flyers. What followed was a five-season dynasty of MJHL championships that had only been previously achieved by the Elmwood Millionaires from 1926-27 to 1930-31. The Millionaires won the Memorial Cup emblematic of the Canadian junior championship in the final year of that run.
Free Press file photo
The Northern Manitoba Blizzard was the Turnbull Cup on May 1 as champions of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
The results of the MJHL final series for the five seasons show how dominant the Blizzard were. OCN lost one game in the 2000 final to the Winnipeg South Blues. The other four finals were four-game sweeps over the Blues in 1999, the Flyers in 2001 and 2002, and the Southeast Blades in 2003. The team's greatest success came in 2002 when the Blizzard beat the Saskatchewan champion Kindersley Klippers and qualified to play for the Canadian junior A title. After finishing round-robin play at 2-2, OCN beat the B.C. Chilliwack Chiefs 4-3 in the semifinals, but lost the Royal Bank Cup final 3-1 to the Halifax Oland Exports, the tournament host team.
In the 1998-99 season, the Blizzard lineup primarily consisted of players from northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan with Wabowden's Konrad McKay leading the way. The centre topped the MJHL in scoring with 38 goals and 73 assists in 56 games and in penalty minutes with — wait for it, not a typo — 406. Think how many points he might have added if he hadn't spent so much time in the sin bin. Cliff Duchesne from Thompson had 92 points. The Blizzard lineup also had Terence Tootoo, 18, and his 15-year-old brother Jordin Tootoo from Rankin Inlet in the Northwest Territories. Terence had 52 points and 239 penalty minutes and Jordin contributed 37 points and spent 251 minutes in the penalty box.
I remember attending the final game in the series with the Blues at the Max Bell Arena, which the Blizzard won 7-0. In the four-game sweep, they outscored the Blues 31-6. In the third period, a large but frustrated Blues defenseman decided to challenge McKay to a fight and the decision clearly went to the Blizzard star. Not long after they served their major penalties, an even larger Blue decided to test McKay, who casually threw off his gloves and from the stands you could almost see him thinking 'here we go again.' It was another quick victory for the 5-foot-9, 173 pound McKay, whose playoff penalty minutes totaled 178. He and Duchesne were named co-MVPs for the playoffs.
After a season of major junior in the east with the North Bay Centennials, McKay played and fought in pro ranks. The 45-year-old played for the Cote First Nation Selects in the Saskatchewan East Hockey League in 2024-25.
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In 2018, OCN sold the franchise to a pair of local businessmen in The Pas and they sold it to the current owners Rob and Bonnie White in 2024. The team renamed the Northern Manitoba Blizzard now plays out of the Roy H. Johnston Arena in the town.
In contrast to the early championship years, this season's Blizzard roster had only centre Isaac Tomchak from The Pas and defenseman Cheechoo Lathlin from OCN. Several players came from southern Manitoba, five including Supprien from Quebec, and from Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Forward Jack Linton was born in Austria.
T. Kent MorganMemories of Sport
Memories of Sport appears every second week in the Canstar Community News weeklies. Kent Morgan can be contacted at 204-489-6641 or email: sportsmemories@canstarnews.com
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