Ultimate hockey playmaker
Published Tuesday November 3rd, 2009
Centreman Kristen Doucet calls herself more of a playmaker than a goal scorer when it comes to her hockey talents on the ice.
In other words, she's just as happy earning an assist on a scoring play. The outcome is what matters most.
It's not just her linemates benefitting from Doucet's mindset. In fact, if not for her "assist,'' there likely wouldn't be a team called the UNB Red Blazers in existence.
The Blazers are a "club'' operating out of the University of New Brunswick. They're playing in what is called the Maritime Intercollegiate Women's Hockey Challenge, a five-team series of tournaments totalling 20 games overall.
The first of those tournaments is being hosted by the Red Blazers at the Aitken University Centre running Friday through Sunday. Competing teams include Acadia University, Holland College of Charlottetown, Universite Sainte-Anne of Church Point, N.S., and Cape Breton University.
Action begins with Acadia playing UNB Friday at 2. Games consisting of three 12-minute stop time periods continue at 5:45, 7 with UNB playing Cape Breton, 8:15 and 9:30 Friday.
Saturday's schedule picks up at 10:15 a.m. with UNB playing Sainte-Anne followed by games at 11:30 a.m., 12:45, 2 with UNB playing Holland College and 3:15. Top two teams advance to Saturday's tourney final at 5:30 p.m.
Subsequent tournaments are scheduled for Church Point, N.S. Nov. 27-29, Charlottetown, Jan. 8-10, Sydney, N.S. Feb. 5-7 and Wolfville, N.S. March 26-28. The team with the most wins over the five tournaments will be awarded the Challenge Cup.
Two years ago, Doucet was a top-line playmaking centre for the Fredericton High School Lady Black Kats, a perennial contender in high school women's hockey.
When it came time to decide on her university pursuits, she opted for UNB in part because of its science program stemming from an interest in geology but also because of its varsity women's hockey team coached by Donny Davis. Davis had been in contact with her, and she liked the idea of being able to play in her hometown.
"I've had a passion for hockey ever since I was about seven, they have a pretty good science program and so this seemed like a pretty good fit for me,'' remembers Doucet.
However, those plans all came crashing down in early May of that year.
Kristen's mother, Mary, remembers getting the call from coach Davis with the bad news that UNB administration was cutting a number of its varsity programs including the women's hockey team.
"She was devastated,'' remembers Mary of Kristen's reaction. "It just caught us blind-sided. It came right out of nowhere. Nobody had any idea this was going to happen.''
In his call to the Doucets, Davis offered his help if Kristen wanted to switch schools to pursue her hockey at the varsity level.
"I remember Mom calling me and telling me she had some bad news,'' remembers Kristen. "I really didn't know what to think. It really came as a shock. Nobody expected it to happen. They say women's hockey is considered the fastest growing sport so it didn't make sense that they would do this.''
Kristen says she considered going to Mount A, but after exploring her academic options and the fact family and friends were here, she decided against that route.
But she didn't want to give up the hockey either.
So she and her cousin, Melinda Forster, who had played with her at FHS and had played sparingly for UNB in what would prove to be its final season in the AUS women's conference, explored the possibilities of forming a "club'' team.
They met with UNB's campus and recreation department headed by Gansheng Xu and sports co-ordinator James Cress about what kind of support they could get from the university.
They explored sponsorship options. By the time they could get a group together and actually ice a team, they were basically limited to playing a series of exhibitions against other schools without varsity teams and boys teams at the midget recreational level. The team was simply known as the UNB women's hockey team.
"I remember we looked at each other during the first game and said to ourselves, 'we're the ones that made this happen,''' said Doucet. "That was a pretty good feeling.''
With more time to prepare, Doucet and Co. were determined to expand the team's operation in 2009-10, recruiting a full-fledged coaching staff led by Andrew Lavoie, who had been an assistant with the V-Reds in their final season, with former high school coaches Gary Arbour and Noel Eustace to help out. Mary Doucet took over as team manager.
For its part, the university gave the team access to the Aitken Centre for its home games, and as is the case with all club sports, provided miminal assistance towards its operating costs. Doucet made contact with the other schools without varsity programs, and the idea of the Challenge Cup became a reality. There was also hopes of a provincial senior women's league forming, however, that hasn't happened.
So like last season, the team plans to supplement its schedule wth a series of exhibition games.
Mary Doucet said the team also decided to adopt the Red Blazers moniker to honour the memory of Mike Power, who had coached the UNB Red Blazers over a 10-year period in the 80's when the team operated much like a club team. Power succumbed to cancer on May 10.
Doucet said she didn't know Power personally, but knew of his support for women's hockey through his writings at the Daily Gleaner. "I'd read some of his stories and it would make me chuckle sometimes to see some of his comments (after UNB dropped the progarm),'' remembers Mary Doucet. "When he died, we wanted to honour his memory, so I brought this (adopting the name) to the attention of the executive, and they quick to adopt it.''
The team began tryouts on Oct. 4, with some 35 players on hand. Over the next two weeks, the roster has been pared down to 23 with 21 hailing from UNB. The other two attend St. Thomas University. Under the club designation, teams can include players from both schools.
"To be honest, I was really surprised by the numbers,'' said Lavoie, who also scouts at the major junior hockey league level. This is his third season coaching women's hockey although he wasn't involved with the group last season.
"It's a different type of coaching,'' he says. "Unlike men's hockey where you've got players starting at a very early age, for a lot of these ladies, they don't start playing until later. So there's a lot more teaching drills and stuff like that involved.
"But they're very coachable. And they want to learn. You really see a lot of progression among the players as the season moves along, and that's always exciting.''
The 19-year-old Doucet heads an array of Frederictonians including forward Lindsay Demerchant, defenceman Marianne Waite and goaltender Alysha Manderson, all of whom played at the high school level in the city.
Forster of Lincoln remains as an affiliated player along with Krystal Freake of Petit Rocher and Allie Hopkins of St. Stephen, all forwards.
Along with Waite, the defence includes Whitney Eastwood of Cambridge, Ont., Haley Everett of Aroostock, Megan Guitard of Belledune, Caitlin Kenny of Sydney, N.S. and Shana Noseworthy of Happy Valley-Goosebay, NF. Noseworthy and Hopkins are the two STUers on the roster.
Players up front include Jenny Bourgeois of Labrador City, NF, Janelle Cantafio of Moncton, Katelyn Fitzherbert of Plaster Rock, Brooke Lockhart of Perth Andover, Katie Marshall of St. Stephen, Jackie Ostridge of Pisquid, P.E.I., Janeil Parrott of Goosebay, NF, Ashley Praught of Summerside, P.E.I., Kayla Paynter of Miscouche, P.E.I. and Brandy Richard of Tignish, P.E.I.
Sharing the goaltending with Manderson is Danielle Briggs of Lower Millstream, N.B.
For the most part, Mary Doucet says the players are responsible for their expenses on the road, although they've been trying to get a series of sponsors to offset the costs. "They want to play, and that's the most important thing,'' says Doucet. They're also been able to acquire a new set of uniforms.
Kristen, who doubles as president of the team, says the longterm goal is to get the sport back to the varsity level at the school.
"The sooner the better,'' she says, but adds there haven't been talks of late with school administration towards that objective.
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