Tommies sweeps the games as they host triumphant exhibition tournament
St. Thomas University (STU) Women’s Hockey season is on the horizon. Fans got a taste of the action when the team hit the ice for the East Coast Classic tournament to open up the home pre-season schedule.
The event brought together STU, the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Reds, St. Francis Xavier University (St. FX) and three teams from Central Canada. Those teams were the Windsor Lancers, Laval Rouge et Or and the Bishop's Gaiters.
Games took place at the Grant Harvey Centre, as well as the Aitken Centre.
Peter Murphy is the head coach of the STU Women's Hockey team. He has been in the role for the past 25 seasons.
Murphy felt the event was a success. He reached out to UNB head coach Sarah Hillworth in the spring to begin planning the tournament.
Both coaches wanted to bring back an event similar to one the teams hosted last season. That event featured teams like the University of Alberta Pandas and the Queens Gaels.
At the same time, Murphy thought the East Coast Classic was a "good move," given how UNB is hosting the U Sports Women's Hockey Nationals in March.
" We had Windsor on board…we had Laval and then we picked up Bishops. So that was good," he said. “Then it was just a matter of getting St. FX. They were eager to come up and play those teams as well. We could offer three games in one location.”
STU opened their tournament against the Windsor Lancers. The team scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the game. Windsor came back to tie things up in the second period. Teams exchanged goals in the final frame. The game needed a shootout to determine the winner. Megan Kirkpatrick and Lauren Smith scored to give the Tommies the win.
Meanwhile, the Tommies took another win in their two games against teams from the RESQ conference. STU defeated Laval 4-3, on the strength of two goals from forward Nadia Lavoie. One of the markers was an individual effort where she found herself on a breakaway. Sunday’s game ended in a 2-1 regulation win against the Bishop’s Gaiters.
Out of the three teams, Murphy felt Bishop’s was the strongest.
“We've gone through a lot of different scenarios. We've won in overtime. We've won in a shootout. We've won in the last third period even though we've been trailing in the game,” he said. “We had a lot of the checkmarks that coaches look for.”
Murphy drew inspiration for the East Coast Classic from the work of former UNB Men’s Hockey coach Gardiner MacDougall.
MacDougall was a person who helped create the annual Pete Kelly Cup. The event takes place every year around Christmas, to honour the memory of the Reds’ former head coach and athletics director.
Therefore, Murphy wanted his team to host a similar event in the fall. He also felt hosting something in September meant more teams would be inclined to “come out East” and see what the region has to offer. It also cut down on the cost of travelling.
“It was a good opportunity to get some different teams in to play our squad, as opposed to always traveling for exhibition,” said Murphy. “Playing in your own rink and playing different teams gives you a little bit of an advantage over them as far as knowing the lay of the land a little bit better than when you're traveling to their rink.”
Murphy credited his peers for their work in running the event. He believes taking on events like the East Coast Classic was difficult, especially on the days when STU did not play. However, having everyone chip in and do their part helped the event run smoothly.
“Our Athletic Therapist did a great job in coming in for the two games that we weren't playing. Emily Oleksuk was here to help out with all the game day events ... which was great,” said Murphy. “We don't have a huge department as far as athletics goes, so it stretched them a little bit to help put it on. So, a big hand goes out to them for all their help.”
As for the future of the event, Murphy’s intent is to make the East Coast Classic an annual tradition.
He has already received some interest from teams in Western Canada. At the same time, Murphy wants the tournament to expand, to the point where a team comes down from each of the U Sports conferences.
Still, the event will not be a “one and done.”
“Every time we host the event, we want to bring attention to the city and to the universities and hopefully get people to come visit,” he said.
STU begins the new season at home on Oct. 16 against the Dalhousie Tigers.
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