Although their seasons may not start until October, the Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams have already laced up and hit the ice. Both teams have been working hard in fall camp to get ready for their preseason games before heading into the regular season.

The Huskies women’s preseason began with an away game on Sept. 10 in Swift Current against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. Unable to get the upper-hand, the Huskies had to settle for a 2-2 tie, with centre Lauren Zary and defence Kayla Kirwan each putting the puck in the net.

Zary, who is the captain of the team and a third-year mechanical engineering student, expressed that she is feeling optimistic about the upcoming regular season.

“Obviously last year it didn’t end how we wanted it, and you know no season really ends how you want it to unless you’re hoisting the national championship above your head at the end of the season,” Zary said.

Zary added that winning the Canadian Interuniversity Sports National Championship is definitely the goal for the Huskies women’s team this year. With a strong roster of veteran players as well as some new energy coming from five players joining the team, she feels that the team is formidable.

Interim head coach for the women’s hockey team Robin Ulrich shared the same attitude as Zary but added that there are adjustments to be made before the team is ready to hit the ice for the regular season in October.

“Some of the things we’re working with are systems and the style of play that we’re moving towards. I think we’re going to be really successful in our league but Canada West is the toughest conference in Canada by far,” Ulrich said. “I mean, every weekend is a crapshoot to see who’s going to come out with wins, so [we’re] just looking forward to that long battle throughout the season and see where everything plays out in the end, but I think we’ll be sitting well once playoff time rolls around.”

Although the women’s team is already competing in preseason match-ups, the men’s team will not enter the preseason until Sept. 16. Despite this, they are already hard at work preparing for the start of their season in October.

Last year, the men’s team was very successful, almost making their way to finals at the CIS National Championships. Head coach Dave Adolph said that the team will be a major competitor once again this year, adding that last year’s team was surprisingly successful after they won the CanWest league with 15 of their 26 players being in their first year.

“We’ve always been an extremely competitive program but last year we kind of got a little ahead of ourselves and went to the National Championship and almost got to the final with a relatively young team. We’ve added 10 new recruits and we think that we have an opportunity to be very successful again this year,” Adolph said.

Kendall Mcfaull, captain of the team and fourth-year mechanical engineering student, plays defense for the Huskies and shared what he will be working on prior to the season’s start.

“I think just getting back to the speed of things. The feet always come back quick — it’s the hands and the puck handling and stuff that take a little longer to come back. It’s working on that being a smoother transition and just making sure that the puck moves well,” Mcfaull said.

Students looking to get out and support Huskies hockey can catch the first games on Oct. 7 and 8, where the men’s team will face-off against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. The women’s team will hit the ice against the University of Alberta Golden Bears at home on Oct. 14 and 15. All Huskies hockey games are played at Rutherford Rink.

—

Jack Thompson / Staff Writer

Graphic: Lesia Karalash / Graphics Editor