Lorette’s Avery Laliberte notches NCAA division 1 scholarship

The Niverville Nighthawks have to be pretty pleased with their first-ever draft pick.

In the 2022 draft, the Nighthawks turned to Lorette’s Avery Laliberte in the first round, and the defenseman hasn’t disappointed. In his age-17 season, Laliberte was a mainstay on the roster, appearing in 53 games while notching 20 points.

In advance of his second season in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Laliberte announced his post-secondary playing plans, committing to the Northern Michigan University Wildcats.

“I think every kid from Western Canada wants to play in the dub (Western Hockey League), but I think it was a better fit for me to pursue NCAA hockey, and I’m glad it worked out,” Laliberte said after Niverville’s home opener Sept. 20.

Laliberte said the Northern Michigan program was attractive thanks to a Manitoban (Elm Creek’s Dave Shyiak) at the head of the program, adding he was “blown away,” by the hockey facilities on campus.

“We loved the staff when we went to meet them all,” he said.

“They’re all alumni of Northern Michigan and they seem like they really want to build the program.”

Northern Michigan University is located in Marquette, Mich., in the Upper Peninsula of the state and is home to roughly 20,000 people. The Wildcats won an NCAA national championship in men’s hockey in 1991.

“It had that home feeling,” Laliberte said.

“We thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up on.”

Laliberte said he wanted to get his commitment decision out of the way before the start of the season to be able to fully focus on the task at hand.

“Just trying to get better everyday,” he said when asked about the challenge of staying motivated after the commitment.

“(I’m) trying to help the team win. At the end of the day it’s the wins that count. Individual stuff, whatever, it comes and goes but it’s the wins that matter.”

Dwight Hirst, Niverville’s head coach, cited that attitude nearly word for word as a big reason Laliberte has been successful as a player. Laliberte was also given an assistant captainship this season.

“He’s just a player that accepts conversations that are hard from coaches,” Hirst said, noting Laliberte is able to quickly correct any bad habits that pop up in his game.

“I think he’s a guy that recognizes those situations quite easily for himself.”

Laliberte and the rest of the Nighthawks are off to a strong start to the season, battling to a 2-1 record after the opening week of play in the MJHL.

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