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OUA women's hockey mid-season review
Source: OUA Communication / Photo credit Ian MacAlpine
HAMILTON, Ont. – With the winter break upon us, the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women's hockey teams put their seasons on hold for a month before returning to action in early January. With a restructured schedule from a year ago resulting in one less game to be played, each game means just a little bit more in the long run.
Ontario University Athletics reflects on the first half of the season for all 11 teams:
Laurier Golden Hawks
The goaltending situation in the Laurier locker room was a bit on edge at the beginning of the season following the graduation of one of the all-time best OUA goalies in Liz Knox and seeing expected starter Kristen Kilgallen (Guelph, Ont.) become unable to play. But the tandem of second year Rachel Hamilton (Wasaga Beach, Ont.) and rookie Erika Thunder (Buffalo Point, Man.) have filled in admirably, propelling the Hawks to a first place record of 13-0-1.
Thunder has eight wins in ten games while Hamilton is a perfect 5-0. Thunder leads the league with a 1.60 goals against average while Hamilton is third with a 1.71 average and both are in the top ten for save percentage.
The Hawks offence is soaring once more, leading the league with 66 goals in 15 games. Each skater on the roster has recorded at least one point, and all but three have a goal to their name. Captain Abby Rainsberry (Petrolia, Ont.) leads the way with 15 points while last year's rookie of the year Laura Brooker (Fergus, Ont.) has 11 goals including four game winners.
As good as the Hawks have been, their power play has scored the second fewest goals and is operating at just 11.4%. If they can capitalize on the man advantage and maintain the other aspects of their game, Laurier looks poised to reclaim the OUA championship.
Guelph Gryphons
Statistically, the Gryphons look to be the top team in the league and are the only team to have defeated Laurier, but remain in second place with a 12-3-1 record.
Guelph has the top power play in the league with a success rate of 27.9% as well as the top penalty kill unit which operates at 91.0%. The title of top offensive defenceman in the league goes to Jacky Sollis (West Vancouver, B.C.) who has 16 points and the Gryphons also boast the top rookie goal scorer in Jessica Pinkerton (Oshawa, Ont.) who has 11 goals.
In terms of goaltending, rookie Stephanie Nehring (Oshawa, Ont.) is the top goalie with nine victories and is in the top ten for both save percentage and goals against average.
In three of their four losses, the Gryphons held the lead at some point in the game and could not hang on. If Guelph can play a full 60 minutes game in and game out, they should have no problem locking up second place.
Queen's Gaels
Being the defending champion means teams are eager to play their hardest against you game in and game out. The Gaels are finding that out the hard way and enter the winter break with a 10-3-2 record, good for third place.
Four of Queen's losses have come against the top two teams, which means they've dominated the rest of the league. Their 59 goals puts them second in the league and are led by OUA and CIS scoring leader Morgan McHaffie (Guelph, Ont.) with 13 goals and 29 points. Sister Brittany McHaffie is not far behind with 21 points which is good for third in OUA.
After Mel Dodd-Moher (Stittsville, Ont.) emerged as the number one in last year's playoff push, the Gaels have returned to a platoon with her and Karissa Savage (Calgary, Alta.) between the pipes. Each goalie has recorded five wins thus far.
Last year the Gaels finished the regular season in fourth place and knowing first-hand that they do not need to have the best record to win a championship should work to their advantage this season.
Windsor Lancers
Though they have yet to appear in the national rankings this year, something they did 14 of 17 weeks a year ago, Windsor is on pace to finish higher in the standings from last season. The Lancers have seen improvements in their final standing for the past three seasons and appear poised to continue that trend as they currently sit fourth with an 8-5-2 record.
It has been a revolving door between the pipes through the first half of the season as three goaltenders have seen action. First year netminder Karlyle Robinson (St. Catharines, Ont.) has seen the most action, registering four wins in eight games.
Fifth year captain Candace Rapchak (Stoney Point, Ont.) leads the way with 20 points for Windsor while Courtney Spoors (Kingsville, Ont.) is following up her rookie season with another solid performance and has 17 points so far. Spoors is one of two players to hold the longest point streak of the season with 14 points in the last ten games.
Alyssa Baldin (Mississauga, Ont.) has fit in nicely in her first season with the Lancers. She leads the team with ten goals after transferring from NCAA play.
Windsor begins the second half with five consecutive road games. The Lancers will look to maintain their current positioning and secure home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
Toronto Varsity Blues
Toronto has been a middle of the pack sort of team for the past few years, and that is where they remain half way through the 2011-12 season. Though the Blues currently sit fifth with a 7-6-1 record, there is a log jam in the middle of the standings and Toronto is just two points ahead of the ninth place team which puts them in danger of missing the playoffs.
The offence will need to crank up the production, having scored just 36 goals so far. After scoring 17 goals a season ago, fifth year winger Brenley Jorgensen (Kingston, Ont.) has been snake bitten and has just three goals and seven total points thus far. Two players sit atop the leader board in terms of points as Amanda Fawns (Scarborough, Ont.) and rookie Courtney Tougas (Thunder Bay, Ont.) each have five goals and four assists.
Adjustments to a power play operating at just 9.9% will hopefully spark the offence in five-on-five situations as well.
Toronto looks to be set for the future in terms of goaltending. Last year Nicole Kesteris (Aurora, Ont.) was named the all-rookie team goaltender and so far this year freshman Krista Funke (Regina, Sask.) sits second in the league with a save percentage of .937. The two goalies have split the duties this year, each appearing in seven games.
The second half of the season will be a battle to stay in the postseason picture. The Blues have one game against each of the teams ahead of them while the rest will be against those battling for the same playoff seeds.
York Lions
After starting the season with four wins in their first five games and garnering a national ranking for two weeks, the Lions are sure to be thinking their record should be better than it is. Through 15 games, York's 7-7-1 record leaves them in sixth place.
The Lions struggled on the road in the first half, picking up just two wins in nine attempts. They have only lost once on home ice and fortunately for York, the second half has them playing away from the Canlan Ice Sports arena just four times.
Prior to the season starting, head coach Dan Church predicted his team would have a scoring by committee style. Turns out he was right, as all but one skater has registered a point so far.
A pair of Hamilton natives lead the way offensively as Kristie Wilson leads the team with 15 points while Katrina Tollis leads with nine goals.
York's penalty kill is last in the league at 77.6% so they will need to continue to be disciplined and avoid taking penalties. The Lions are currently the least penalized team.
The Lions will need one of their goaltenders to step up and lead the charge in the second half. All three goalies have played in at least four games and York is still searching for someone they can lean on.
Western Mustangs
After finishing last season six points out of the playoffs, the Mustangs have to be thrilled with their progress. Heading into the midseason break, Western has already surpassed their win total from a year ago and sit seventh with a 7-8-0 record.
The biggest change so far this year has been the defence. After allowing 93 goals last year, Western is on pace to reduce that number by 30. Second year goaltender Olivia Ross (Huntsville, Ont.) has improved her play but it has been the play of Kelly Campbell (St. Thomas, Ont.) making the big difference as the rookie tender is tops with a .944 save percentage, fourth in saves, and sixth with a 1.91 goals against average.
Stacey Scott (London, Ont.) leads her team and rookie scoring with 19 points in 15 games. Senior winger Katie Dillon (Oshawa, Ont.) has 17 points including 11 goals which puts her tied for fourth in the league.
The Mustangs will need to capitalize on the four games they have remaining against teams below them in the standings to separate themselves. This looks to be the year the Mustangs return to the postseason, but it won't be an easy task.
Brock Badgers
It isn't easy to follow a season which saw the best finish in school history, let alone follow it without your leaders on both offence and in net. The Badgers have struggled after losing player of the year Kelly Walker and top goaltender Beth Clause and currently cling to the eighth and final playoff spot with a 6-7-1 record.
The sophomore duo of Jessica Fickel (Fort Erie, Ont.) and Leigh Vanderveen (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) lead the offence with 16 and 11 points, respectively.
In goal, Chantal Bicket (Oshawa, Ont.) has won the battle between fellow rookie Emily Kelly (Port Elgin, Ont.) for the number one job. Bicket has appeared in 11 games and has posted all six of the Badgers' wins. Those six wins puts her in a tie for third most in the league.
The season has been pretty up and down for Brock so far. They started 1-3, then put together a four game win streak, but followed that up with a four game losing streak. The Badgers will need to avoid those lengthy losing skids from here on in to ensure their place in the postseason.
Waterloo Warriors
It appears as though the women from Waterloo donning the black and gold are on the same page as their new bench boss. In his first season with the team, Shaun Reagan has already guided the Warriors to more victories than they had in 2010-11 and are tied in terms of points for the final playoff spot. The Warriors have missed the postseason each year since 2006 and it seems fitting they would return in their 10th anniversary season.
Kelly MacLean (St. George, Ont.) has had a good first half of the season coming off an injury which left her out of the lineup a year ago. She leads the club with 14 points. Last year's leading scorer Caitlin Brydges (Ariss, Ont.) has eight points but has yet to find the back of the net this year. An increase in her offense will certainly help the Warriors going forward.
Rookie goaltender Rebecca Bouwhuis (Orillia, Ont.) has taken over the number one duties from last year's starter, Martina Michaud (Etobicoke, Ont.). Bouwhuis is in the top five in the league in every statistical category, including second in minutes played and saves, third in wins and save percentage, fourth in goals against average, and is one of only two goalies to record two shutouts.
The Warriors have had their struggles on home ice this year going 2-6 at the Columbia Ice Field arena. They see some stiff competition at home for the remainder of the season and will need to grind out some wins to push for that final postseason berth.
University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks
With a record of 5-10-0, the Ridgebacks are likely not where they want to be as they enter the midseason break in 10th position. However, with such close competition this year, they are still just three points out of a playoff spot.
The goaltending tandem of Jessica Larabie (Pickering, Ont.) and Emma Thompson (Hastings, Ont.) have not yet found the success they were expecting to have in their junior and senior years, respectively. Larabie has earned the majority of playing time and has three of the team's wins.
Junior forward Jill Morillo (Whitby, Ont.) has garnered most of the headline attention at UOIT so far this year. Her 13 goals is tied for tops in the league and she set two school records in the same game when she registered four goals and five points on October 22. She leads the team with 19 points while fellow Whitby native Sarah Worthington has been solid with seven goals and 14 points. Rookie Jennifer Daly (Ajax, Ont.) fits in well to the Ridgebacks system and has posted 11 points.
With the new playoff format extending to eight teams, the Ridgebacks have the potential to earn their first postseason appearance in school history.
Ryerson Rams
It did not take long for the Rams to pick up their first OUA victory as they took care of that feat in just the third game of the season. Since then, however, Ryerson has not been able to register a 'W'.
As with any team entering a league for the first time, the Rams have had some growing pains. The combination of the fewest goals scored, most goals allowed, and most penalized team lands Ryerson at the bottom of the standings with a 1-15-0 record.
Several players on this Rams team were there last year when they won the Golden Blades Women's Ice Hockey League Championship so they understand what it takes to win and are determined to improve in their new league.
Forwards Kyla Thurston (Ajax, Ont.) and Lauren McCusker (Newmarket, Ont.) have succeeded in transitioning to OUA play after spending four seasons with Saint Mary's of the Atlantic University Sport conference. Thurston leads the club with eight goals and 13 points while McCusker has 12 points.
Goaltender Emma Crawley (Herring Cove, N.S.) has been the busiest of all OUA netminders, logging over 860 minutes and recording 442 saves – nearly 100 more saves than the next player. As she continues to adjust to OUA action, she could be a future all-star and one to lead the Rams going forward.
OUA women's hockey action returns to the ice in the new year with three games on the first Friday of 2012.
OUA SCHEDULE & RESULTS
January 6, 2012
7:30 pm – Waterloo @ Toronto
7:30 pm – UOIT @ Queen's
7:30 pm – Windsor @ Laurier
January 7, 2012
2:00 pm – Toronto @ York
7:30 pm – Brock @ Queen's
7:30 pm – Laurier @ Western
January 8, 2012
3:30 pm – Brock @ UOIT
