The Dalhousie Tigers - Dalhousie University

In the autumn of 1976 the Dalhousie varsity field hockey team made Dalhousie sport history by becoming Canadian Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CWIAU) champions. In sleet, snow, sun and fog, this Tigers team completed an undefeated regular season in the Atlantic University Athletic Union (AUAA) before moving on to the national championships hosted by Dalhousie. Determined and highly skilled athletes on the field, and good friends off, the squad spent many hours training, traveling and competing together that special fall, a time that led to the ultimate goal of a national championship.

The season opened with high expectations as Dalhousie had won the AUAA title the year before and had only lost once at the inaugural CWIAU field hockey championship to the eventual winner, University of Toronto. The Tigers dominated Memorial University of Newfoundland 6-0 to start the season and followed this with a 3-0 win over Mount Allison University. It was not until the third game of the season that the Tigers surrendered a rare goal against to University of Prince Edward Island, but one was not enough as the Tigers went on to defeat the Panthers 3-1.

After a successful start at home Dalhousie took to the road and continued to look strong, posting convincing 3-0 and 5-0 wins over Acadia University and St. Francis Xavier University respectively, sandwiched around another home victory over StFX. The Tigers faced tough competition in New Brunswick where they defeated Université de Moncton 1-0 before cruising to a 3-1 victory over UNB.  The Tigers finished the regular season with three more victories, two of which came via scores of 5-0, one each over Saint Mary’s University and Acadia. Undefeated heading into the AUAA championship at UNB, Dalhousie would face off against Moncton in the semifinal, coming out on top, and met host UNB in the final. The final was a dramatic match that saw the Tigers down 2-0 at the half. Refusing to be denied, the team fought back and tied the score 2-2, before capturing the conference title with a 3-2 victory on a goal by Erin O’Brien in the final minute of play.

The 1976 CWIAU championship was held during the first weekend in November at the Halifax Common. The Friday games saw the Tigers defeat University of Victoria 3-1 in their first game followed by a 5-1 victory over McGill University. The tournament encountered some wet Nova Scotia weather on Saturday and play was suspended for the day. The tournament resumed on Sunday with the pitch muddy and wet. These difficult conditions resulted in 0-0 draws for Dalhousie against Toronto and the University of Manitoba. The results of the round robin had the Tigers matched against the 1975 champions, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, in the winner take all final, which was now slated for Monday morning due to the suspension of play on the weekend.

On a bright and cold Monday morning the Tigers took on the Varsity Blues in a game that proved fast paced and challenging. The Blues controlled much of the play for the first 40 minutes, but despite this edge in play, the Tiger defense was outstanding, allowing very few shots on goal.

The two teams continued to play hard and Dalhousie was awarded a penalty shot at 6:47 of the second half. Pam Dickey made no mistake and the Tigers were ahead 1-0. Toronto pressed hard throughout the remainder of the game, coming close to tying the score on a couple of occasions. Tiger goalie Merle Richardson proved unbeatable, as she had on so many occasions throughout the season, and the Tigers defended their lead. When the final whistle was blown the Tigers had accomplished what they had set out to do at the beginning, they were the 1976 CWIAU National Champions!

Team members: Diane Boulanger, Shelley Deakin, Pam Dickey, Karen Kelly, Wendy MacMullin, Donna Misner, Andrea Mann, Erin O’Brien, Maeve O’Mahoney, Merle Richardson, Kim Robson, Brenda Sacre, Heather Shute, Jocelyn Webb, Julie West, Manager Barb Graves and head coach Nancy Buzzell.