The AV俱乐部 Tigers women鈥檚 hockey team enters the 2016 season looking to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
With a stable mix of veterans and newcomers, head coach Sean Fraser is confident in his team鈥檚 ability to make another push for the postseason in the highly competitive AUS conference.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice, we鈥檙e finally not that young team anymore, and we have players in the system that get it,鈥� says Fraser.
AV俱乐部 will be led defensively by fifth-year blue liner Laura Brooks, who led the AUS conference in goals last season with five. Additionally, Rachel Carr, Kayla Ogilvie and Andrea Lyon will all be key instruments on the defensive end. All four players are entering a minimum of their fourth year of eligibility.
鈥淔or a few years we were really young on defence and we didn鈥檛 have any veterans. Now we have two fifth-years and a handful of fourth-years, so that鈥檚 good on the defensive side of things,鈥� Fraser said.
Between the posts, the Tigers have a variety of options. Third-year goaltender Jessica Severeyns led the squad in wins last season with seven victories in 12 starts, while fifth-year 鈥榯ender Mati Barrett will also provide quality leadership and poise between the pipes.
Additionally, rookie Fabiana Petricca 鈥� who spent the last two seasons in the Provincial Women鈥檚 Hockey League and posted over a .900 save percentage in each of her two seasons 鈥� will be an added asset.
Having a solid mixture in net will greatly help the Tigers in limiting their goals against.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pretty comfortable with any of our goaltenders,鈥� Fraser said.
鈥淲e have a base right now with a first, third and fifth-year, but our third and fifth have both certainly proven they can hold us in games when we need them to and it gives our first-year time to develop.鈥�
Offensively, forward Lisa Maclean is back for her fourth year. She was second on the team last season with 15 points, despite having her 2015-16 campaign cut short due to injury.
鈥淭he loss of Lisa Maclean, the first game back was a big blow, but it gave some other people an opportunity,鈥� Fraser said.
鈥淧eople that were in their first and second seasons last year got to play some minutes that they otherwise wouldn鈥檛 have, especially in situations like the power play and penalty kill, which hopefully will pay off this year.鈥�
Fellow forwards Jennifer Thompson, Courtney Sheedy and Elizabeth MacArthur 鈥� all entering their fourth years of eligibility will also bring a veteran presence to the lineup.
In terms of new recruits, forward Ashley Money and defence Annika Rose were highlighted by Fraser as players that have stood out in the pre-season.
Money was a valuable asset to the Burlington Barracudas in 2015-16 as an alternate captain, while Rose is a former member of the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy U19 prep team in Kelowna B.C. where she recorded 12 points in 32 games during the 2014-15 season.
In Rose鈥檚 two seasons with the academy, she helped lead the team to a silver medal in 2014 and bronze medal in 2015 at the Female World Sport School Challenge.聽
In terms of the season as a whole, AV俱乐部 is looking to advance past the first round and make a significant playoff run. With that in mind however, Fraser鈥檚 focus is breaking the season down into smaller segments and growing as a team as the year progresses.
鈥淲e want to get off to a good start this year, that鈥檚 something we鈥檝e struggled with the past few years,鈥� Fraser said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of breaking it down into four-game segments and that can certainly set the tone for the rest of the year.鈥�
The women kick off the season against the University of Prince Edward Island this Saturday, October 15, at 6:30 p.m. .