Preston Shupe and Torrey Lindsay, both former Weyburn Red Wings, have rewrote the history books for their Canisius College hockey team. The co-captains lead the Golden Griffins to their first ever Atlantic Hockey championship.
Preston Shupe and Torrey Lindsay, both former Weyburn Red Wings, have rewrote the history books for their Canisius College hockey team.
The co-captains lead the Golden Griffins to their first ever Atlantic Hockey championship. Now, both Shupe and Lindsay will continue to lead the team through the final 16 for the NCAA hockey championships.
"It feels very special to rewrite the history books, it still feels very surreal," said Shupe. He is a former Weyburn local, son of Jesse and Jackie Shupe.
"We really caught fire at the right time," added Shupe. The Golden Griffins are making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament in the school's history. The Griffs, who own the nation's longest active winning streak at eight games, defeated Mercyhurst 7-2 to win the Atlantic Hockey's automatic bid.
"Right before we hit the winning streak, we were on a losing streak. So before the final game, the team said seven is a fluke, but eight is a streak. Now we are saying eight is a fluke, but nine will be a streak," laughed Shupe.
Canisius was just 11-18-5 and in seventh place in Atlantic Hockey as the season was winding down. The Griffs scratched out two wins in Air Force, then defeated NCAA-bound Niagara in the semifinal. The seven goals in their final against Mercyhurst was a season high.
In the NCAA hockey championships, the Griffs will play top-seeded Quinnipiac in the semi-final game, set for Saturday, Mar. 30 at 5:30 p.m. (ET).
Quinnipiac enters the tournament with a 27-7-5 overall record. The Bobcats earned an at-large selection after winning the ECAC regular-season title and finishing third in the league's postseason tournament.
The winner of the Bobcats and the Griffins will face either Boston College or Union on Sunday, Mar. 31. The East Regional final is set for 6:30 p.m. (ET).
The four regional winners from the NCAA top 16 advance to the "Men's Frozen Four". This tournament is set for April 11 to 13 in Pittsburgh, Penn.
During the final 16 tournament for the NCAA, the entire championship uses a single-elimination format, where a team has to win to stay in the championship.
"We couldn't write a better ending for our final year," said Shupe. This is the senior year for Shupe and Lindsay with the Canisius Golden Griffins.
"It is really cool to be co-captain with Torrey, it has been a fun journey," said Shupe. "When we played in Weyburn, we saw what it took to have a winning team, and are still using that to lead our team this year."
Shupe and Lindsay were chosen to be co-captains at the start of the 2012-13 hockey season. "We were very honoured to be chosen. We have a great locker room, the team really believes in each other, and we trust each other," said Shupe.
"There is still a lot of work ahead of us, for the final 16," said Shupe. "We are not done winning yet."
At the end of their regular season, Shupe finished second overall as a scoring leader after playing for 42 games, scoring 16 goals and 12 assists. Lindsay also played 42 games this season, scoring three goals and 11 assists. The 42 games included both regular-season games and the league finals.
Looking back on the career of both Shupe and Lindsay, both players had successes during their freshman, sophomore and junior years. During his freshman year, Shupe was one of five players to appear in all 37 games, and led all freshmen with 10 goals and 15 assists. Shupe was tied for fourth among Atlantic Hockey freshmen.
During his freshman year, Lindsay played in 31 games, and notched one goal and 10 assists.
Then during the sophomore year, Shupe played in 32 games, scoring 10 goals and 14 assists; and Lindsay appeared in 36 games, scoring three goals and 11 assists. Shupe tied for third on the team as a scoring leader.
Then during their junior year, in 2011-12, Shupe appeared in 30 games as a team captain, scoring two goals and six assists. Lindsay was one of three players to appear in all 36 games, and he scored six goals and two assists.
Both Shupe and Lindsay were named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic team in their freshman, sophomore and junior years. The All-Academic team is determined by those players who had a GPA of 3.0 in each semester during a school year.
The Griffs have honoured both players with awards in previous seasons. Shupe was the rookie of the year in 2009-10, and won back-to-back awards for "Hasek's Heroes" during 2010-11 and 2011-12. Lindsay won the Tom Chapman memorial award in 2011-12.
Shupe and Lindsay were signed by the Canisius College hockey team in their final year with the Weyburn Red Wings. Shupe played three years with the Wings, and was captain in his final year during the 2008-09 season. Lindsay played two years with the Wings.
