Dwight Stirrett, Dave Siciliano, and Murray Smith were three of the finest hockey players to ever play for Lakehead University. The trio were called the S Line and struck fear into their opponents. They will be inducted onto the Lakehead Wall of Fame in a special ceremony on Sep. 29th at the Lakehead Hangar.
The three began playing for the Lakehead Norwesters as a line in the teams second year of existence (1966-67) and played together for three seasons as a unit; 66-67 to 68-69. Siciliano graduated at the end of 68-69 while Smith and Stirrett played one more season for Lakehead.
Individually, their stats speak for themselves. Until the advent of the new Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey program; Smith was Lakeheads No. 1 all time leading scorer with 92 goals and 134 assists for 226 points, Siciliano was tied for 7th with 54 goals and 102 assists for 156 points, and Stirrett was also tied for 7th with 79 goals and 77 assists also for 156 points. In the new combined Lakehead hockey career stats; Smith sits third all time behind Joel Scherban and Jeff Richards, while Siciliano and Stirrett are tied for 10th.
The Lakehead Norwesters of the S Line era competed in the Intercollegiate Hockey Athletic Association conference against American opponents like present day NCAA Div. I Bemidji State, Lake Superior State, St. Cloud State, as well as the University of Wisconsin-Superior (now NCAA Div. II). The S Line was coached by Lakehead Wall of Fame and Michigan Tech Hall of Fame Inductee Hank Akervall; who went on to become Lakehead Athletic Director.
The 66-67 team (inducted to the Lakehead Wall of Fame in 1999) won the ICHA championship. During that championship season; Siciliano was first in ICHA scoring, Smith second, and Stirrett third. All three members of the S Line were named ICHA All stars in multiple seasons and Smith and Stirrett were twice named NAIA All Americans.
Former Bemidji State and NCAA Coaching legend Bob Peters was the coach at Bemidji State during the S Line era at Lakehead. Incidentally, Peters played one year of Junior A hockey in the Lakehead as a goaltender in 1955 for the Fort William Canadiens before going on to a collegiate career at North Dakota and his legendary coaching run at Bemidji State.
Peters said the S line was a force to be reckoned for his powerhouse Bemidji State squad. I considered all three players to be excellent collegiate athletes. My strategy as the opposing coach was to match my checking line against them whenever possible (at home for sure) and or my best offensive line in the hope that these three Lakehead players would have to consider playing some defensive hockey against Bemidji State. Simply put, I was of the opinion that we had to shut down or control them as best we could in order to earn a victory against Lakehead. Without any hesitation, all three players would have been welcome additions to any team that I ever coached at the collegiate level. I thoroughly enjoyed competing against such talented athletes even though they caused me to worry extensively whenever they were on the ice.
Since graduating from Lakehead; all three went on to varied careers. Stirrett graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1971 and remained in Thunder Bay and worked for the Canadian Grain Commision for 32 years (now retired), Siciliano, who graduated with an Arts degree in 1969, went on to a very successful career in hockey coaching, while Smith, who graduated in 1970 went on to a successful career in business with Sears and Grand & Toy.
Dwight Stirrett achieved impressive individual honours while playing for the Norwesters; two-time NAIA All American (68-69, 69-70) and three-time ICHA All Star (66-67, 68-69, 69-70). In one notable game on Feb. 6, 1967 against St. Cloud State; the smooth skating right winger scored 4 goals and added 2 assists to lead Lakehead to a 12-4 win. He added four points in the second game of the