Press Release
Thursday, October 13, 2016
AUS women’s hockey season begins Satur
Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues will begin their 19th Atlantic University Sport women’s hockey season with two weekend games at the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena.
The Denis Ross troop will host its perennial opponents, the St. Francis Xavier University X-Women, Saturday evening at 7 p.m., a game under the Annual Homecoming weekend of the Moncton campus. The Saint Mary’s University Huskies will be the rivals, on Sunday at 4 p.m.
‘’We are aiming for one of the top two spots in regular season,’’ coach Denis Ross said. ‘’We will go through an adaptation process this season with many rookies (11) in the line-up. Most of our veterans are second or third year players. We will have to adjust to this caliber of play as we search for our character, as a team. I did notice some progress during our three games in Montreal, two weeks ago. The weekend games are against two very good teams. It will not be easy, but we play better as the underdog. We will do our best to get the best out of every player during each game.’’
Ross spent some time recruiting new players to build for the coming years. He is very happy with the play of rookie defencemen Julie Thériault, Samantha McLaughlin and Chantal Beauchamp, among others and new goaltender Sabrina Lebrun, a good athlete who will play with veteran Gabrielle Forget. First year attackers to look for are Janelle Graham, Judyane Bernier and Sarah-Ève Mailhot. ‘’Once we find our character, we will take off and we will be difficult to beat,’’ Ross added.
Team captain, Karine Roy, is in her fifth and final season with the Aigles Bleues. The MBA student is looking forward to this campaign. ‘’I would enjoy winning the AUS and a medal at the CIS,’’ stated Roy, from Nigadoo, as a personal goal. ‘’I know our team, will be ready for the first game. We wish to be in the top 3 at the Christmas break. As team captain, my role is to be a role model on the ice, no matter the score, to our many rookies. We also need to build team spirit and a homogeneous group in the dressing room. All team members need to feel wanted and included. We will be competitive in every game.’’
Briefs -- Moncton (16-6-2-1=34pts) was second in the 2015-2016 season, one point behind first place Huskies. The Bleu et Or lost in AUS semi-final play to St. Thomas University Tommies. Saint Mary’s toped St. Thomas, in the final… coach Denis Ross is in his 10th season behind the bench… there are 11 rookies with the team… all the players will be introduced before the game, on Saturday evening… president and vice chancellor, Raymond Théberge will drop the puck to launch the season.
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