By Troy Langstaff

The women’s hockey team entered the year looking to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. This Tigers team featured the youngest group the program has seen in recent years with more than half the roster made up of first-year players.

The top half of the league was very competitive, but the Tigers managed to keep themselves in the mix with a big 9-1 victory over Mount Allison and another win over the #1 nationally ranked StFX X-Women. After giving up three goals in the first ten minutes of the game, the Tigers stormed back to win 5-3. They ended the first half of the campaign with a 3-8-5 record.

2021-22 Women's Hockey Photo Gallery

Tigers head coach Troy Ryan rejoined the team for their last couple of games after leading Canada’s women’s hockey team to a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

“I was very excited to get back behind the bench with this group of student-athletes,” said Ryan. “They are a great group of people and a lot of fun to work with. They have a passion for the game, their teammates, and the program so who wouldn’t want to work in that type of environment.”

In the final game of the regular season, Ryan would earn his first victory as head coach of the Tigers with a 5-1 win over St. Thomas.

“Our win against STU to end the regular season was a result of a lot of hard work this group put in over the last couple seasons,” explained Ryan. “It was great to see them rewarded.”

The Tigers ended the year with a 4-12-5 record setting up a date in the AUS quarter-finals with crosstown rival Saint Mary’s. It was a strong performance by Dalhousie, but they would ultimately fall 4-0 to end their season. 

Graduating seniors from this year’s team included Keana Oshowy (Woodbridge, ON), Autumn Moors (Ottawa, ON), Taylor Joyce (Halifax, NS), Ariana Pinchuk (Sherwood Park, AB) and Taylor Beam (Brooklin, ON).

“Anytime you have graduating student-athletes it is important to reflect on their time with the program,” said Ryan. “I can honestly say that collectively these student-athletes have worked towards leaving the program in a better place than it was when they arrived.”

Although the team will be losing some key players, returning athletes include the top three scorers from this year’s team - Olivia Eustace, Brooklyn Paisley and Isabella Weist. Coach Ryan was pleased with their seasons but believes they need to take their games to another level for the team to have more success next year.

It was a strong development season for the rest of the young squad, but they will need to find a way to come out on top in their close games next year.

“These student-athletes are at a point where they are no longer satisfied with keeping it close,” said Ryan. “They are starting to expect more from themselves, each other, and the program. That is an exciting place to get to and this group will continue to grow as a program.”

2021-22 Women's Hockey Award Winners

Team MVP Taylor Beam	Tiger of the Year Isabella Weist