Murdoch squad working hard to win it all

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This article was published 26/11/2021 (1433 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There is some unfinished business for Murdoch MacKay’s women’s hockey team to take care of this season.

In 2019, the girls from Murdoch took home the Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League Hire Marketing Division championship following the program’s first season. In March 2020, the team was looking to repeat after going 19-1-2 in the regular season. A showdown against neighbouring Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau was slated for the division final, before the COVID-19 pandemic shut sports down across Canada.

“There’s some pressure to go back into finals, because we didn’t get to do that,” said team captain Rebecca Heintz, a Grade 12 player who was with the team in 2020 as a Grade 10 blueliner. 

“We really want to be in the finals again, so we can redeem ourselves from the year we didn’t get,” added Grade 12 assistant captain and forward Sarah Edwards, who was also with the championship team in Grade 9. 

Brienna Street, team manager, said that while the team hopes to go the distance, there’s a lot of hockey left to play in the meantime.

“We’d be grateful to be in that spot again, but there are challenges, so I don’t think anyone is assuming we’ll be there,” Street said. 

Murdoch MacKay is off to a solid start, though, with a 6-3-0 record ahead of a Nov. 29 game vs. Glenlawn (result not available at press time). The team also held first place, and a division best 28 goals for, while surrendering only 16.

“We have a lot of speed, we’re good at skating, we can all pass well, but we need to communicate more,” Edwards admitted.

With the WWHSHL cancelling the 2020-21 season, it has been a challenge getting everyone up to speed.

“Last year, we could have had a good team again,” Edwards, who had a goal and an assist in eight games played, said. “It was really weird to not play. This is a lot of fun this year. We’re trying to make the best of it, but it’s definitely different.”

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“We’re just trying to work on playing as a team better,” Heintz said. “We have so few players, we don’t have set lines yet. So we’re trying to work on getting used to each other, those kind of. As time goes on, it will be easier.”

Because this year’s roster features an abundance of natural defenders, Heintz, who typically plays defence, has been taking shifts at centre when needed.

“It’s been a big switch,” said Heintz, who had notched two goals and an assist at press time. “But there are some similarities, especially in our own zone. You get a different perspective. It makes it a lot difference (playing defence) now that I know what forwards are having to do.”

While the younger squad has taken some time to find their feet, Street said it will pay dividends for the program in the long run.

“Last year was challenging, trying to rebuild that. But I think we did well with that this year,” she said. “It’s a different feel and mix, but also great for team succession as well.”

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

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