2009-2010 – Season Recap

It was a relatively young team that coach Shawn Swords will take to battle as the 2009-2010 edition of the Laurentian Voyageurs Men’s Basketball team fell just short of their intended goal. A handful of very close losses, including back to back season ending defeats at the hands of the York Lions by a total of just nine points, proved costly.

The Voyageurs would finish the season with a record of 6-16, tied for York in the sixth and final playoff slot in the OUA East, but losing out on the tie-breaker. Steadying the ship with the veteran presence of both Matas Tirilis and Paul Kovacs, Laurentian posted noteworthy wins over Queen’s and Toronto, and battled the front-running Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Gee Gees tooth and nail at the Ben Avery Gym in Sudbury.

A graduate of the Voyageurs basketball program, coach Swords would offset his disappointment in not reaching the stated goal of advancing to the playoffs, with the knowledge of the countless steps forward taken last year by his hard-working troops.

He points to a mid-season tournament as a turning point, providing glimpses of the potentital that lies within the young core of talent he has assembled. “Our Christmas trip to the east coast was enjoyable”, noted Swords.

“We went 3-2 and really came together as a team. It helped us go into the OUA east portion of the schedule with some confidence.” Nowhere was the reason for optimism more evident than in the performance of Manny Pasquale, son of Sudbury native and former National team member Eli Pasquale.

The younger of two brothers who played at Laurentian during this most recent campaign (Isiah also transferred from Victoria), Manny Pasquale would earn honours as the OUA East Rookie of the Year, selected to both the OUA East 1st all-rookie team as well as cracking the national freshman roster as well.

The development of the young guns at L.U., especially in the second half of the season when the team would lose by more than 10 points only once in their final dozen games, was encouraging to both fans of the Voyageurs as well as the team’s coaching staff.