Forty five years ago this month, a pair of future CCAA All Canadian goalies attended the training camp of the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames before reuniting on a CCAA champion that surrendered the fewest goals per game of the 22 national champs.

On November 18, 1979, 19 year old Jeff Lastiwka and 18 year old Cleo Rowein were between the pipes at opposite ends of the ice as rivals in the Western Hockey League's Eastern Division met. Rowein earned the win while Lastiwka suffered the loss as the visiting Saskatoon Blades outscored the Great Falls Americans 9-4 in front of 400 attendees.

The pair was among eight goaltenders at Flames training camp in the fall of 1981.  The remainder - Hardy Astrom, Tim Bernhardt, Mark D'Amour, Rejean Lemelin, Pat Riggin and Mike Vernon - all played in the show at some point.

Lawistka laced up the skates for the University of Calgary Dinos during the 1981-82 campaign. He then turned pro donning the jerseys of the Central Hockey League's Colorado Flames as well as the International Hockey League's Peoria Prancers and Milwaukee Admirals over the next two years.

Rowein returned to the Western Hockey League's Lethbridge Broncos for the 1981-82 season before enrolling at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology where he was the team's number one goaltender for two campaigns.

In the fall of 1984, there was some uncertainty about the Ooks goaltending situation.  While Lastiwka was a part of the equation, Rowein was a question mark as he attended the training camp of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Instead of turning pro, Rowein opted to continue his education. NAIT's depth in goal was unmatched.

The 1984-85 campaign was one for the ages as the Ooks won every regular season and post season game en route to a CCAA championship. The team surrendered 57 goals in 25 regular season matches and 17 markers in eight post season contests.—an average of 2.24 goals per game. Along the way, NAIT defeated the eventual 1985 University Cup champion York University Yeomen 5-3 at the Altjahres Cup in Adelboden, Switzerland.

At the 1985 CCAA National Hockey Championship in Moose Jaw, Rowein became the first male athlete in the nation to be selected a three time CCAA All Canadian.  Two years later at the 1987 CCAA National Hockey Championship in Camrose, Lastiwka was honoured as a CCAA All Canadian.

The 1984-85 NAIT Ooks are the only CCAA champion to have two CCAA All Canadian netminders on their roster.

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