Press Release
Thursday, October 07, 2021
AUS Women's hockey: Aigles Bleues 2021-2022 season begins Friday
It took a year and a half, but the long-awaited day is finally here as the Université de Moncton's Aigles Bleues return to the ice at the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena on Friday evening for their opening game of the 2021-2022 Atlantic University Sport women's hockey regular season.
The St. Thomas University Tommies will be the visitors for the game, which begins at 7 p.m. The last game the Blue and Gold played was on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, when they were eliminated in three games from further action in a 2-1 overtime playoff loss to the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers. The last regular season game was a 2-1 overtime win against the Mount Allison University Mounties on Monday, February 10, 2020. The 2020-2021 season was canceled because of restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are excited to be back for the start of the new season," said head coach Marc-André Côté. “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time and a home game is a plus. Our goal is to qualify for the playoffs, ice a competitive team at every game and fulfill our requirements as a team.”
The Aigles Bleues have a young team with only eight players who have at least one season of AUS experience and 15 rookies who will live their first official game in this caliber of play on Friday. "We know the Mounties well, having played them twice in preseason," added the coach. “We shared the result of these two games, so fans should attend an exciting, intense and high caliber game. Even with a young team, we will be fast and play well in all three zones.”
Team captain Janie Poitras is entering her fifth season with the team. "I want to set an example as captain to the youngest who are going to play a first season," she explained. “Our team is young, and most of our veterans are on the defensive squad. I want to demonstrate a strong work ethic for everyone. We're going to work hard on the ice, not give up and be fast. The energy of our new players will be surprising.”
Other than Poitras, Catherine Longchamps, Émilie Lalancette, Isadora Quirion, Alexia Desforges, Mélodie Arsenault, Audrey Berthiaume and Cassandra Call played at least one season. The recruitment work added capable players who demonstrated good skills during the exhibition games. The team has three goalkeepers, 7 defenseman and 13 forwards.
Moncton finished the 2019-2020 season in 6th place with an 8-18-2 record for 18 points. Moncton then lost 2 games to 1 to the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers in the 2 of 3 AUS quarterfinals, losing 2-1 in overtime in the final game.
Fans are admitted for Friday's game. However, the correct wearing of a face mask is mandatory throughout the arena. It will also be necessary to show proof of double vaccination and a government-issued ID card before entering the arena. All Aigles Bleues players will be introduced in a pregame ceremony with an official puck drop to launch the season.
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