People in Thunder Bay celebrate hometown star Michela Cava on heels of PWHL championship win
'She's always been a winner. Success has always followed her,' says Queens Hockey board member
The words of a TSN announcer calling out: "And she scores!" was met with heaps of celebration in Thunder Bay Ont., this past Wednesday as hometown favourite Michela Cava scored the insurance goal during the inaugural Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) championship game.
Cava, number 86 on Minnesota, made history as part of the first ever season of the PWHL. Minnesota took home the Walter Cup over Boston in a 3-0 sweep.
The team will be the first to have their names etched into the Walter Cup.
"There was perhaps a little tear coming down my eye when the Walter Cup was presented… and of course, having Michela Cava on the team just made it extra sweet for everybody. We were very fortunate," said Diane Imrie, executive director of the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in Thunder Bay.
Imrie said the excitement of the championship win could be felt in the community this week. Many cheered on 30-year-old Cava, who is already an inductee in the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, alongside four other Cava family members.
MICHELA CAVA WITH INSURANCE! 💜 <a href="https://t.co/6TKAyqmkvU">pic.twitter.com/6TKAyqmkvU</a>
—@PWHL_MinnesotaTraditionally, the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame raises the flag of the NHL's Stanley Cup winner if a local player is on the team's roster.
That's a tradition Imrie is hoping to carry out with the PWHL as well.
"We're looking forward to raising a flag for Michela. We just have to try and get a PWHL flag, which I'm sure will be able to track down and have her and the community come and raise that flag and fly it proudly," said Imire.
Historic moment for women's hockey
From the beginning of the season, the PWHL has been met with enthusiastic support, especially in Thunder Bay. The community has a robust women's hockey association, including a rep division, of which Cava is an alumna.
That's been a big point of pride for the Queens Hockey organization, with board member Dave Paddington sharing it's no surprise to the hockey program that Cava has made it this far in her career.
"She was with the Queens early on, with the Thunder Bay Queens organization in its infancy," Paddington said. "Our organization had a great deal of national success."
"I think that's the one thing you can say about Michaela is that from the time she was a young player, she's always been a winner. Success has always followed her," he said.
Cava played with the Thunder Bay Queens as they made their way to the National Female Midget Championship Esso Cup in Regina back in 2010. The team won, making them the first women's team from northwestern Ontario to win a national hockey title.
The team was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame last year in recognition of their 2010 win.
Imrie noted the recent PWHL title is Cava's fourth straight championship title. Those titles date back to 2021 and 2022 when Cava played in European leagues. In 2023 Cava raised the Isobel Cup with the Toronto Six when the team won the Premier Hockey Federation.
"I mean, it's another historic page in women's hockey, but it's also a historic page for regional sports here in northwest Ontario," Imrie said.
Cava wasn't the only person with Thunder Bay roots to be involved in the inaugural year of the PWHL. Imrie also points to Olympic gold medalist Haley Irwin, who coached in Ottawa this year.
Samantha Isbell from Thunder Bay also was part of the reserve team for Boston.
Excitement continues as many wait to see where the Walter Cup will end up this summer and if it will travel, like the Stanley Cup.
"Minnesota is not that far from here. So I think it will be, it's sort of a natural that it will come. Again at the Hall of Fame, will be ready for that," Imrie said.
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