WEST KELOWNA, B.C. – With the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I upcoming on Thursday, the West Kelowna Warriors will have five alumni suiting up vying for college hockey’s top prize at the Frozen Four in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Charles Alexis-Legault and Michael Lombardi of the Quinnipiac Bobcats, Matt Steinburg of the Cornell Big Red, Wyllum Deveaux of the Harvard Crimson and Levi Stauber of the Michigan Tech Huskies will all battle for the Frozen Four tournament this upcoming weekend in the NCAA Regionals, taking place at four different venues around the United States.
PHOTO: Tami Quan
Legault and the Bobcats are a #1 seed out of the Bridgeport Region and will take on #4 Merrimack College on Friday afternoon at 2:30 PM PST in their first game of the NCAA tournament. The Pierrefonds, Quebec native compiled 2 goals and 7 assists for 9 points in 37 collegiate games this season as a freshman at Quinnipiac. Legault notched 6 goals and 12 assists for 18 points in 36 games last season for the Warriors, returning to the team following his stint with the squad during the Okanagan Cup of 2021.
PHOTO: Lorne White/KelownaNow
Lombardi will also compete with Legault and the Bobcats in Bridgeport this weekend as a fifth-year senior, who amassed 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 37 games this season and has accumulated 78 points over 171 college hockey games at Quinnipiac. The Barrington, Rhode Island native suited up in 44 games for the Warriors during the 2017/18 campaign, scoring 14 goals and contributing 21 assists for 35 points.
PHOTO: Tami Quan
Deveaux and Harvard enter the Bridgeport Regional as the #2 seed and will face-off against the #3 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday at 11:00 AM PST. After playing with the Warriors during the Okanagan Cup and captaining the team during that stretch, the Sackville, Nova Scotia native has played four years with the Crimson, playing 90 total games with the program.
PHOTO: Tami Quan
Steinburg and Cornell enter their regional in Manchester, New Hampshire, as the #4 seed and will take on #1 Denver University on Thursday afternoon at 2:30 PM PST. A four-year forward with Cornell, the Halifax, Nova Scotia native wore an “A” as an assistant captain this season and has registered 20 goals and 45 points in 71 games played with Cornell. The 3rd round selection of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft also played with the Warriors during the Okanagan Cup tournament. Cornell and Denver will see Boston University and the University of Western Michigan join them in Manchester.
PHOTO: Garrett James
Stauber and his Huskies from Michigan Tech will enter Allentown, Pennsylvania Regional as the #3 seed and square off against #2 Penn State University at 2:00 PM PST on Friday afternoon. The Hermantown, Minnesota native scored 11 goals and 16 points in 52 games with West Kelowna during the 2019/20 season and has played two seasons at Michigan Tech, getting into 25 games with 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points. Michigan Tech and Penn State will be joined by the University of Michigan and Colgate University in Allentown.
The NCAA Regionals, along with the Frozen Four tournament, will all be available to watch in Canada on TSN+, the streaming service for TSN. The Regionals take place on Thursday and Friday with the weekend finals slotting in on Saturday and Sunday. The Frozen Four, destined for Tampa Bay and the Lightning’s home arena of Amalie Arena, will see Semi Final games take place on Thursday, April 6th before the Championship game takes place on Saturday, April 8th.
The Warriors (26-20-6-0) enter their final weekend of play in the regular season with their final home game of the regular campaign, taking place on Friday night against the Merritt Centennials (12-35-3-2) at Royal LePage Place. It is Fan Appreciation Night with giveaways happening throughout the game and the Warriors will be presenting their year-end awards following the final buzzer. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with tickets available for purchase online on the Warriors website as well as in-person at the Box Office ahead of the opening puck drop.
