Why you should watch the women’s hockey team
author: konstantin kharitonov | sports editor
Shoot and score / Pixabay
And why you shouldn’t watch the men
Its really two opposite tales for Cougars hockey this season. Both hockey teams recently started their seasons a short while ago, and with four games into the season, the separation between the two teams is showing.
On the one side you have the women’s team, who are chugging along quite nicely so far. The team is coming home from Lethbridge after sweeping the Pronghorns by scores of 2-0 and 4-3. This goes along nicely with their season opening split with the Mount Royal (No good, really bad) Cougars, winning and losing by a score of 3-2. The team has scored 11 goals and has let in eight, and already have a shutout to their name. They currently sit in a four-way tie for first place in their division. Not too shabby at all.
Then, we head over to the men’s side and, oh dear. The team has not gotten off to a good start at all, having yet to record a victory this season and only one point in four games, which came from an overtime loss against the same Mount Royal Cougars. I guess those victories against SAIT and York University were just a mirage. The men’s team have scored eight goals, but have also let in 17 goals. That’s right, 17 goals in four games. Yeah, it has not been pretty at all.
To say the men’s team is disappointing is an understatement, especially after recruiting some decent talent this offseason. It is becoming obvious that the real source of quality hockey on campus is coming from the women’s side. The U of R just isn’t on the level of UBC or the U of S, who can produce quality teams in both genders like there is no tomorrow, but it is at least nice to see one of them have success.
As to say whether the women’s team has a chance to remain successful for the rest of the season, its not as set in stone. In the previous year, the Cougars started 3-1-0 before stagnating for the rest of the year to finish with a mediocre 10-14-4. Their next opponents are the University of Manitoba Bisons, who the Cougars have had trouble with in the past, losing all four games to them last year, while only scoring two goals in the process. If they want to have a shot at a better season, these are the opponents who they must beat. The Bisons aren’t even a particularly strong team so far, so if they beat the opponents they should, then they have a better chance of doing something more in the playoffs.
Even still, this is a team worth watching as a hockey fan. Frankly, it’s the only team on campus that is worth your attendance. Hopefully you can attend games that really, truly matter in short time.
