1966-76 Laker Hockey All-Decade Team includes four Sault, Ont. natives

Supplied by the Lake Superior State University Lakers…
SAULT STE. MARIE – The first of five All-Decade Team ballots has been tabulated. Fan voting is part of the Lake Superior State Hockey 50th Anniversary celebration, and the first all-decade team includes five members of the LSSU Sports Hall of Fame and spans the hockey program’s first 10 years. The poll, which can be found on lssulakers.com/sports/50anniversary, received numerous submissions from fans during the two-week voting period.
Fans were asked to select their three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender who played for the Lakers between the inaugural 1966-67 season and had completed their time at LSSU by the 1975-76 season.
The three forwards selected to the 1966-76 Lakers All-Decade Team were Julio Francella, Randy McArthur and Jim Wiley. All are LSSU hall of famers.
Julio Francella

Francella starred for the Lakers from 1971-75 and was the program’s the all-time leading scorer until the early 1990s. In 121 games for the Lakers, the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. native racked up 68 goals and 144 assists for 212 points. Jim Dowd (1987-91) is the only Laker to surpass Francella as the all-time points leader.
Despite never leading the team in goals and only leading the team in assists as a sophomore in 1972-73, Francella led the Lakers in total points as a freshman in 1971-72 and again as a senior in 1974-75. He was also a member of both NAIA championship and was a NAIA All-American in 1972 and ’74.

Randy McArthur
McArthur appeared in 87 games for the Lakers and was a member of the inaugural 1966-67 team. Despite playing the fewest games among the Lakers’ top-10 all-time scorers, McArthur ranks third overall with 208 total points. The Providence Bay, Ont., native also holds the record for most career goals with 113 and is one of two Lakers to break the 100 goal scoring plateau along with Sean Tallaire (1992-96), who compiled 103.
McArthur led the first three Lake Superior State College teams in goals, including a 39-goal output in 26 games as a junior in 1968-69. McArthur was a NAIA All-American in 1969 and ’70.

Jim Wiley

Wiley (1968-72) led the Lakers in scoring in 1970-71 and 1971-72 and was a NAIA All-American in 1972, helping the Lakers to the NAIA crown that season. After 104 career games Wiley produced 70 goals. He ranks 14th in all-time in scoring with 155 points.
Following his career at LSSC, the Sault, Ont., native enjoyed a number of successful seasons in the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks organizations, becoming the first Laker alum to appear in a NHL game. Wiley made 62 NHL appearances.

The top two defensemen selected by the fan vote were hall of famers Tom Davies and Archie Orazietti.

Tom Davies
Davies, a native of Downsview, Ont., was also a member of both NAIA championship teams for the Lakers during his career, which spanned 1970-74. In 118 games Davies produced 104 assists from the blue line and 50 goals. His 104 assists ties Tallaire for seventh all-time.
During his senior campaign in 1973-74, Davies tallied 25 goals and 61 points in 36 games for a single-season scoring record for Laker defensemen that still stands. In fact, Davies led the entire team in scoring during that 1974 NAIA Championship season and earned his third consecutive NAIA All-America honor.

Archie Orazietti

Orazietti (1966-70), a Sault, Ont., native, is one of four Lakers to wear the captain’s “C” for more than one season, leading the Lakers during each of his final three seasons. The hard-nosed defenseman led the Lakers in penalty minutes for three seasons and produced 109 career points. Orazietti earned NAIA All-America status in 1969 and ’70.
Don Muio

The fourth Sault, Ont., native voted to the 1966-76 All-Decade Team is the late Don Muio. While playing at LSSC from 1969-73, Muio posted a career goals-against average of 3.94, along with 2,161 career saves and a career save percentage of .873. He was a member of the Lakers’ 1972 NAIA National Championship team that was inducted into the LSSU Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
Muio started all four seasons for the Lakers and earned NAIA All-America status in 1970 and ’72. He went on to serve as a volunteer assistant coach at LSSU in the early 1980s and for seven seasons from 2004-11. He passed away last April.

Voting for the 1976-86 All-Decade Team is now open and available at http://lssulakers.com/sports/50anniversary/All-Decade_76-86. The 1976-86 All-Decade Team will be announced Aug. 19, at which time voting for the 1986-96 team will commence. Fans may vote as many times between now and Aug. 19 for the 1976-86 team.