With a convincing win against a Perth club team Sunday afternoon, the Queen’s women’s hockey team found their legs after a long summer off. The team, which has a noticeably different look from last season, had barely been acquainted before donning the tricolour to begin the exhibition portion of their season.
“I’m happy, considering we never had much practice,” said head coach Harold Parsons. “We only got on the ice for the first time last night.”
The game was fraught with mistakes and loose play, but Queen’s managed to appear dominant nonetheless, emerging with a convincing 4-0 victory.
After a scoreless first period, Queen’s jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the second. Both teams had numerous chances, but only the Gaels were able to capitalize.
Queen’s also took several penalties in the second period trying to cover for slip-ups, but their penalty kill was strong in front of both Gaels goaltenders Claire Hunt and Melissa John, who split time in the game.
Five minutes into the final frame, Queen’s added to their lead and rookie goaltender John was excellent in preserving the shutout. The final goal was deposited into an empty net in the game’s dying moments.
The Gaels team, which captured the OUA bronze medal and led the league in goals last season, has been remodelled this year. Only nine players from last season’s 23 have returned. However, some key players remain, such as star defender Keri Baker. Parsons said he will add nine more, and carry the two goaltenders who played Sunday.
Last season, the Gaels were plagued by a slow start and had to play stellar hockey in the second half of the season to catch up in the standings. They finished just a game above .500, although seven of their 10 losses were by a single goal and two were in overtime. They finished the season ranked tenth in Canada.
Parsons said he is not concerned about establishing a rapport amongst the players with so many new faces on the team.
“We feel good about chemistry,” he said. “A lot of these players are people we’ve been talking to for a couple of years. We’re not worried at all. This is the best team we’ve had since we’ve been here in of chemistry.”
Standing out on the long list of departed players is the OUA’s all-time leading scorer, Elizabeth Chiasson. Her 155 career points, as well as her well-known leadership skills, will be sorely missed.
“She’s an impact player, and we don’t expect to replace her,” Parsons said. “We have to focus more on our defence, and we’re not going to be the highest-scoring team in the league, but if we can score three or four goals, we’ll win most nights.”
With the emphasis shifting to the defensive side, the Gaels have used the off-season to outfit themselves with the necessary players on the blue-line. They will carry six defenders, all of whom have a presence on the ice, Parsons said.
“We have plenty of size—most of them are 5’10” or 5’11.””
There is no clear starting goaltender standing behind this defence. Claire Hunt is returning from a strong campaign last year and is looking to earn the starting role.
“Hunt is in much better shape than last year,” Parsons said.
However, newcomer Melissa John—who made several difficult saves in Sunday’s shutout win—is expected to pressure Hunt in pursuit of the coveted number one spot.
“She is going to push [Hunt],” Parsons said. “It’s going to be a good competition.”
The departure of Chiasson also leaves the Gaels without a clearcut top line. The team will look for even, consistent scoring contributions from all their forward lines, Parsons said.
“We expect to be a hard-working team with three equal lines,” Parsons said. “We want to improve throughout the season, and it should be easier for some because we are only carrying 18 players. Last season we carried 23.”
The Gaels’ fortunes are difficult to predict as it remains to be seen whether the OUA’s other teams will change as significantly as Queen’s has. Parsons said it is too early to tell who the top contenders will be and that therefore the teams focus has to be internal in the lead-up to their first league game on Oct. 7.
“We don’t have a clue,” he said. “All of our concern is about our individual development.”
Nevertheless, Parsons said he expects his team to compete with the best the OUA has to offer, and to be a factor come playoff time. The team has reached Ontario’s final four and emerged with a medal each of the past four seasons.
“We’re confident that we’ll be in the top six, and get into the playoffs, and I think we’re going to surprise some teams,” he said.
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