Race to Antigonish

AUS women’s hockey teams to battle for second spot at CIS tourney at StFX
By Glenn MacDonald, The Chronicle Herald

MAYBE the third time around will be the charm for the St. Francis Xavier X-Women hockey team.

The X-Women have hosted the Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s hockey championship on two previous occasions — 2006 and last year — and each time came away without a medal in front of their adoring Antigonish fans.

StFX will get another chance at national glory as it hosts the CIS championship, March 11-14, 2010. With the tournament returning to Antigonish, two berths are up for grabs for Atlantic conference teams. X is already in as host so the other seven AUS clubs will be gunning for the other invite.

The Moncton Aigles Bleues captured the Atlantic university conference’s first CIS women’s hockey championship medal last year by edging the Manitoba Bisons 3-2 in a shootout in the national tournament’s bronze medal game. It was the first medal won by an AUS club in the 12-year history of the championship.

Moncton, which defeated StFX in last season’s AUS final, enters the new season ranked fourth in the CIS. The X-Women are sixth.

"Our league is the best it’s ever been," StFX head coach David Synishin said. "On any given night, people will realize that if you don’t bring your best hockey you’re going to be beaten. That’s more so than it’s ever been.

"We stress that we want a good seeding at nationals and the best way to get that is to win the AUS championship. And we saw it last year when Moncton beat us in the final. They did very well for themselves and for the conference to get that medal. The focus is to develop and progress through the year and then try to win an AUS championship because it will seed you better as far as the CIS championship goes."

The race to Antigonish begins tonight on two fronts as the season opens with StFX hosting the St. Thomas Tommies and the Saint Mary’s Huskies visiting the UPEI Panthers.

Here’s a glance at Nova Scotia’s three AUS women’s hockey teams:

StFX X-Women (19-3-2, second in the conference) — StFX led the league in goals for (106) and goals against (43) but Synishin expects this year’s edition to be "a blue collar team."

"We probably won’t have the fire power up front that we had in the past," he said. "But we will certainly be a very hard working team. But we’ll have to work hard to get our points."

Carolyn Campbell, who collected 17 goals last season, defencemen Marilynn Hay and Suzanne Fenerty, the team captain, and fifth-year goalie Katie Harvieux are the key returning veterans.

Among the eight rookies Synishin expects to have a prominent role this season are blue-liner Jenna Downey and goalie Katie Greenway.

"We have a ton of new faces," Synishin said. "We have a first-year player on every line and defensive pairing except for one.

"But we have a very good returning nucleus. It’ll be a good mix. We have a goal of getting better each week and I can see that happening."

Dalhousie Tigers (12-11-1, fourth) — The Tigers came within one victory of advancing to the CIS championship last season.

Dal, which fell to Moncton in the Atlantic conference semifinals with a berth to nationals on the line, could take that next step with the return of 16 veterans.

Leading the charge will be top scorer Jocelyn LeBlanc, who led the conference in goals with 21, and a solid 1-2 punch on the blue-line with captain Laura Shearer and fifth-year veteran Kaitlyn McNutt.

Forwards Robin Mullen and Robyn Nicholson and offensive blue-liner Alyssa Hennigar will help power the offensive production.

Auburn Drive Eagles graduates Rebecca Sweet and Lyndsey LeBlanc, who led their high school to a fourth consecutive provincial title last year, are among the Tigers’ seven new recruits

Between the pipes, fourth-year netminder Emelie Ederfors will be backed up by a pair of sophomores, Ashley Boutilier and Alyscia Zaryski.

Dalhousie opens the 2009-10 campaign at home Saturday night against St. Thomas.

Saint Mary’s Huskies (7-14-3, fifth) — The Huskies suffered through their worst season last year but head coach Lisa Jordan expects things to turn around.

"I think we have turned the corner from last year," said Jordan, who’s been the SMU bench boss for 12 years. "We had a lot of unexpected things we ended up facing in terms of injuries, things that were out of my control.

"Hopefully we have learned to be more resilient if things aren’t going so well. We’re a program that’s used to having some sort of success and it took us a while to figure it out that we have to work hard for it. I think this year we will be better prepared to handle those situations. It’ll be more of a team mentality this time around. The motivation level is pretty high after underachieving last season."

Seventeen players are back from last season, including fifth-year veterans Kori Cheverie, Melissa Young and Amy Dawson. Jordan expects third-year forwards Lauren McCusker and Kyla Thurston to boost the offence this season.

"It’s funny, we have our worst year on record and we return a lot of players and suddenly we are a better team even though it’s the same group," Jordan said with a laugh.

The Huskies are counting on Jill MacIsaac’s return to all-star form. The fourth-year goalie missed half of last season after dislocating her kneecap a week before the regular season opened.

Rookie blue-liners Rebecca Mosher and Seyara Shwetz should have an impact this season.