2022 ACAC Champs. (RDP Athletics)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Season Begins Oct. 14, 2022

Red Deer Polytechnic Queens Hockey team looks to be consistently competitive

Oct 13, 2022 | 10:40 AM

Hockey season is here, and the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens hockey team is ready to commence their 2022-23 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) season on October 14.

The Queens had an impressive 2021/2022 season with an 11-2-2 (W-L-OTL) record which gave them top spot in the conference and a bye to the finals at the ACAC Championships. With a 2-1 semi-final series win over the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks, the Olds College Broncos faced the Queens in the finals. Only surrendering three and putting up seven goals on the Broncos, the Queens came away with the three-game sweep and won the 2021/2022 ACAC Championship.

Head Coach Kelly Coulter thought they played well defensively and worked extremely hard from August right to the end of March

“I was very happy for them to finish off with a championship. They showed up right at the start of pre-season and worked hard all the way until the championships and were successful in the end.”

This year, the Queens have brought back the majority of last year’s championship team with most of the student-athletes in their second year of collegiate competition.

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Coulter says even though they are still a fairly young team, they are hard-working and have good leadership from their returning players.

“They know what our culture is. They understand what our expectations and standards are and they have done a very good job at making sure our new players understand our expectations, standards and how we perform.”

One of the players that is returning is third-year forward Avery Lajeunnesse (Bachelor of Education Elementary). The Queens head coach believes she will be a key returnee for them because not only is Lajeunnesse a leader, but she also understands the team’s expectations and how they want to play on the ice.

The Queens will also be welcoming back their three goaltenders from last year which includes second-year Tanya Disotell-Dunsmore who led the ACAC in goals-against-average (0.58), save percentage (.969) and win percentage (.900).

The majority of last year’s defensive core will also be back and Coulter is quite excited to have them returning.

“It’s going to be helpful because they have been together, they know how each other play and they will be a key part of the team.”

The two-time championship head coach recruited six student-athletes for the upcoming season and is extremely happy with them all so far during the pre-season. Coulter believes all six players are key additions to this squad. He added three defenders in Sarah Raymond, Kaedence Mollin and Jessica Bouffard.

Coulter says they are very coachable and are executing what the coaching staff is asking of them.

On forward, the coaching staff added Molly Flynn, Tasha Barsby and Hailey Mcavena who are said to bring a lot of speed to the Queens forward corps. Coulter felt speed is something the Queens have needed to add over the past few seasons.

As for expectations, the Queens head coach wants to be competitive and get better every game and is not focusing right now on being back-to-back champions in the ACAC.

“We want it to be entertaining for the fans so a game that has pace and we want to compete at every game. But off the ice, doing well academically as a team. We sometimes forget they are student-athletes. For me, I want to see all my players continue their success with their schooling whether it is here in Red Deer or elsewhere.”

Coulter and the Queens are eager to get the regular season started and will begin on the road in Lloydminster to face the Lakeland College Rustlers, who are a new addition to ACAC Women’s Hockey this year. The puck will drop at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 14 and fans can stream the game live on ACACTV.

For more information on Red Deer Polytechnic Athletics, including Queens Hockey, please visit: rdpolytechathletics.ca.