Every year, the UBC Women’s hockey team faces the same questions: Can they score enough goals? Last year they only had 45 in 24 games, second-worst in the league. Can the defence provide some relief for starting goaltender Melinda Choy? She faced 691 shots last season, 160 more than any other goaltender in the conference. And can they compete with perennial powerhouses Alberta and Manitoba in the upper echelons of the Canada West conference? Last season, UBC lost all six of their games to the two teams, being outscored 32 to 3 in the process.

But Head Coach Nancy Wilson is confident those questions will be answered favourably by her Thunderbird team.

“Our expectation this year is to be better than last year. We need to move forward, but I think we’re quite capable with competiting with the top teams in the conference…in any given game, any team can win in the West.”

And Wilson has reason to be optimistic. The T-Birds are coming off a strong 2008/2009 season where they finished fourth in the Canada West Conference, reaching the playoffs for only the second time in the team’s existence. Most impressively, they accomplished the feat with 14 rookies on the roster—more than any other team in the conference.

“The challenge is to try each year to add players to this team that can compete….We are a young team that’s getting stronger and stronger every year,” she said.

The strength of the Thunderbirds team will once a bolstered defence core. Choy returns for her fourth year as the starting goalie for UBC, and keeps the T-Birds competitive despite a constant barrage of shots. On defence, the team has added Rayna Cruickshank, who was on the national U-18 team last year, and Christi Capozzi, who was a provincial U-18 star.

“We’ve certainly improved our defence, and there’s more of a connection from our goalie to our forwards,” said Wilson.

Up front, the T-Birds will be hard pressed to score goals with the graduation of Kim Coates and Kristie Keller, who were first and third on the team in points last year respectively. To fill the void, veterans Jenny Mahovlich, Lisa Bonang and Alisha Choy will have to improve their play—particularly on the power play, where UBC scored on only 6 of 91 chances last year.

But Wilson knows anything can happen.“ As a visual, we have a mountain we want to climb, and there’s no excuses, but we want to have fun doing it.”

2008/2009 Recap

Final Record: Regular Season: 8–15–1. Playoffs: 0–2.

Standing: 4th in Conference

On offence: 45 goals scored (4th in Canada West)

On defence: 102 goals allowed (6th in Canada West)

2009/2010 Preview

Returning Starters: Forwards: 9/12. Defence: 4/6. Goalie: 1/1

Offensive Star: Senior Julie Mahovlich finished tied for first on the team last year with 12 points.

Defensive Star: Sophomore defensemen Kelsey Halvorson finished second for all rookie defensemen with 10 points, and made the Canada West all-rookie team.

Schedule:
Oct. 9–10 vs. Calgary, 7:30pm*
Oct. 23–24 vs. Lethbridge, 7:30pm*
Oct. 30–31 @ Manitoba, 7pm
Nov. 6–7 @ Alberta, 7pm
Nov. 13–14 vs. Sakatchewan, 7:30pm*
Nov. 27–28 vs. Regina, 7:30pm*
Jan. 8–9 @ Regina, 7pm
Jan. 15–16 vs. Alberta, 7:30pm*
Jan. 22–23 @ Lethbridge, 7pm
Jan. 29–30 vs. Manitoba, 7:30pm
Feb. 5–6 @ Saskatchewan, 7:30pm
Feb. 12–13 @ Calgary, 7:30pm
Feb. 26–Mar. 14: Playoffs

—All game times local.
—* indicates CiTR broadcast.