The Dinos women’s hockey team opened their season in the second week of October with high expectations, despite a shaky pre-season.
The team came off a strong year previously that saw them claim third position in Canada West, despite this year's 3-4-0 pre-season. What’s more, they were set to face the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, who were last year third in the East and seventh in Canada West.
Every season is a blank slate, a reality the Dinos came ready to confront. The home opener on Friday Oct. 9, the Dinos found themselves falling behind early on the scoreboard. Down by one going into the third period, they got a burst of inspiration from fourth-year forward Evelyn Lawrence on the power-play, tying the game late and forcing overtime. Despite holding the Huskies scoreless in three-on-three overtime, they would fall in the shootout for a final score of 3-2.
The Dinos’ top line anchor the first three rounds of the shootout, but the exact order remains flexible between Lawrence, fourth-year forward Mikayla Blomquist and fifth-year forward Sydney Mercier. Although the trio had success in shootouts during the preseason, they were unable to get a goal against the Huskies’ third-year goaltender, Clara Juca. Still, the Dinos only forced overtime to earn at least one point because of their top line, which scored both goals in regulation.
The conclusion of the home-opening series followed Saturday with a rematch against the Huskies. The Dinos once again fell with a final score of 3-2, though this loss came in regulation. Offence for the Dinos continued via the trio of Mercier, Blomquist and Lawrence with the first two each scoring a goal.
While the lack of diversity in scoring may seem worrying, Coach Josh Gosling isn’t concerned — he believes every line has a distinct role to play. He highlighted a veteran trio of fifth-year forwards Sophia Zuck, Bree Kennedy and fourth-year forward Solana Cooper, for generating momentum the rest of the team fed off.
In Saturday’s loss, the Zuck line were the ones to get the puck into the offensive zone, so Mercier, Blomquist and Lawrence could come onto the ice and subsequently tie the game at one apiece.
Special teams — the powerplay and penalty kill — are looking good, two games into the season.
“The foundation’s there — just [have to] clean up some details,” Gosling noted. “At the end of the day, your penalty kill starts with your goaltender.”
Through home opening weekend, the Dinos’ goaltenders played exceptionally, letting in only four goals on the 60 combined shots.
The battle in net will be a big narrative for the team this year. Team veteran, fifth-year Amelia Awad is playing her final season, while second-years Maisie Cope and Alyssa Barrette will be looking to earn more starts. Regardless of how good the goaltending is for the Dinos, they won’t start winning until the offence produces. And scoring starts with shot volume — something the team struggled with during the opening weekend.
“We’re not ready when the puck drops,” Gosling admitted.
He wants greater pre-game accountability, believing it will translate into a complete performance on the ice. Crucial to that shift is desperation scoring — a key priority he emphasized back in preseason.
“We need to understand how hard it is to play in mud,” Gosling added.
For Gosling, that lies in the details of the play. Playing a physically heavy game, driving to the front of the net and creating energy that lasts after a player’s shift.
“We gotta take care of those details to prevent that dip [in momentum],” Gosling told the Gauntlet on Saturday.
A highlight for the team has been the play of Sydney Mercier, who scored two of the Dinos’ four goals, and assisted on the other two.
Her line has an identity — but where others might revolve around creating energy or playing a solid defensive-zone shift, hers is clear: score goals.
While she and her linemates have delivered so far, they aren’t exempt from the finer details Gosling is focused on. Clearing the puck when given the opportunity, and generating another level of desperation scoring to put the team ahead when they really need it.
The Dinos will be back at home Oct. 23 and 24, where they will face a division rival against the Mount Royal University Cougars. However, Mount Royal had an opening weekend sweep in a back-to-back against the MacEwan Griffins, allowing only two goals throughout both games.
If the Dinos want to find their first home win of the season, they’ll have to come ready to compete against a team that has proven they might be the group to beat this season.
