Paulo Kastrup
LANCE WRITER


The Lancers Women’s Hockey team are prepping themselves for a busy season both on and off the ice.

After a solid pre-season wrapped up with Sunday’s 2-0 win against Detroit Honeybaked Ham at South Windsor Arena, the Lancers look to continue that momentum.

“We have really been working hard,” team captain Alyssa Baldin said. “Our off ice chemistry and work ethic has led to a lot of success … and it will definitely continue to benefit us as we move through the season.”

“The exhibition games have given us the opportunity to work on our systems as well as our on ice chemistry in order to help prepare us for the season.”

The Lancers now look to work on any areas that need improvement before the season begins with Saturday’s game against the Waterloo Warriors at South Windsor Arena at 4 p.m.

“We just need to work on mastering our systems and being consistent with our play,” Baldin said. “We are a hard working team and once we get our systems down and are able to play two back-to-back games consistently, we will see a lot of success.”

In addition to the hard work the Lancers are putting on the ice, the team has also been busy off the ice volunteering their time in the Windsor community.

“Currently we are helping out with HOCKtoberfest,” Baldin said. “This year we were very fortunate to have received a generous donation from HOCKtoberfest to our team, so as a thank you we are trying to be actively involved with the tournament to help them in any way that we can.”

In addition to HOCKtoberfest, the Lancers also participated in a free skate with the community Sept. 28 and will take part in another one Oct. 5. The Lancers will also participate in a Halloween food drive towards the end of October.

“We are role models within a community that has many aspiring, young female hockey players so it is important that we show them what it takes to be a student-athlete but also what it means to give back.”

Baldin feels that the community activities help build team chemistry by bringing the players together outside of hockey. It also gives them the chance to have fun doing something that will help others.

“It is often a reality check and a reminder as to how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to be student-athletes,” she said.

After a strong season last year, the Lancers look to be just as good this year and keep up with their toughest competitors. “Laurier, Guelph and Queen’s are always a tough game but there is no doubt in my mind that we will be able to compete with them,” Baldin said.