This Atlantic University Sport (AUS) season was successful for the St. Thomas University (STU) women’s hockey team.
Going into the season, the team had goals and designs of bringing home another championship back to campus. STU had finished fourth the previous season but were aiming for a higher seeding and a better matchup come playoff time.
This time around, the girls in green and gold finished third in the conference, meeting the rival St. Francis Xavier (STFX) X-Women in a five-game semifinal playoff series for a second straight season.
The series between STU and STFX was incredibly close, leaving a slim margin of error on each side.
Both teams battled hard, splitting the first four games. One of those games was a five-overtime thriller, where STU came out on the losing end. The historic game was the longest in AUS Women’s Hockey history, lasting over four hours and 30 minutes.
After the dust settled, the teams battled in a winner-take-all game five on March 7 in Antigonish. The Tommies were narrowly defeated 2-0, ending their bid for Nationals and AUS glory.
The Tommies last won the AUS in 2019.
Despite losing in the semifinals, Head Coach Peter Murphy thought the team should have earned a better result. This was because he felt the players did all they could to win and go further in the playoffs.
“We played really well. All of our statistics that we got back from our reports showed that we did the things that we wanted to do, but sometimes it’s funny. We had a long overtime game which had a goal disallowed, which was unfortunate for our team,” said Murphy. “And then our first game back here, despite losing it, we had good numbers. We did well and then did well in game four, winning that in overtime.”
“Although the goal would say that we didn’t by not winning the AUS, I thought the girls achieved a lot this year and represented [the] school very well.”
Murphy thought the team had a good year, despite having their ups and downs. One of those hurdles was how the team went into a bit of a “lull” during the first half of the season, where they lost five consecutive games.
Those losses ultimately came back to bite the Tommies at the season’s end in terms of the final standings.
“I think the fans are going to like the team. We’re still a fast team. We like to play fast. We like to try to get the puck moving up ice as quickly as possible. We like our defense to be involved in that,” said Murphy on what he is looking forward to next season.
“Our rookies played really well in the playoffs … and that bodes well if you’re looking at going in next year,” said Murphy.
Rookie Megan Kirkpatrick finished the playoffs with five points in six games, good enough for third in conference scoring.
Katie Sweeney is a fourth-year goalie for the Tommies. She started every playoff game for STU, including the five-overtime thriller in game two.
Sweeney said the matchup, albeit a long one, was an experience that “helped with loving hockey,” which made the game feel less like it lasted almost five hours.
“The season taught us that we can rely on ourselves and each other and understand our roles and growing through the pains that can come along with the regular season,” said Sweeney. “And I think it really prepared us for playoffs and the challenges that we might face, because it helped us figure out our goals and what works best for us as a team. Having [a] good forward, defense and goaltending group is part of that.”
A key moment from the season for Sweeney was how the team came together in the absence of their captain Ekaterina Pelowich, when she was selected to represent Team Canada at the FISU Games in Italy in mid-January. The departure left a hole in the team’s first line.
Despite her absence, Sweeney, as well as her teammate, third-year forward Trinity Webber, thought it was great to see how different players stepped up in big situations. This ultimately highlighted the depth that STU had on their roster.
Webber and Pelowich were linemates for much of last season.
“Moments like that show us that we need all our lines running and because they’re going to shut down our star players in the playoffs and certain situations. And that’s sometimes what happens and it did happen in game five,” said Webber.
For next season, Webber is looking forward to seeing the caliber of rookies coming into the organization.
She believes this is something that has been on the rise in the past couple of years, going all the way back to 2020 when players like Sweeney and Pelowich joined the Tommies.
“I’m really excited to be the underdog, but maybe be able to win it next year,” said Webber.
