By Adam Kalab, Sports Contributor
When it comes to Laurentian athletics, most of the focus is on the men’s basketball team. While this attention is rightfully deserved, it can cause the performance of other teams to fall under the radar.
Through the first half of their season, the Voyageurs women’s hockey team has quietly established themselves as one of the school’s most consistent teams. Heading into the Christmas break with a 5-6-1 record, there is certainly room for improvement. But there are also many positives to draw from as the team looks to get back into the playoffs after missing the last two seasons.
The team’s greatest strength is arguably their goaltending. Starting goalie Shanna Dolighan has handled most of the workload and has risen to the occasion. With 10 starts, she leads the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) with 317 saves, ranks second with a .941 save percentage, and ninth with a 2.01 goals-against average. Her backup, Danielle Toland, has been equally impressive in her two starts. Toland boasts a .973 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average. She has made 71 saves on 73 shots, including a 38-save shutout November 23rd against Ontario Tech.
The Voyageurs lead the league with four shutouts, three of them from Dolighan.
Earlier this season, Dolighan had a shutout streak of 135 minutes and 48 seconds, including back-to-back shutouts. The stellar play of the goaltenders has the Voyageurs ranked second in goals against. One small area of concern is the fact that the team gives up an average of 34 shots per game.
Last year the Voyageurs gave up an average of 2.83 goals per game. This year that number is down to 2.08 goals against, thanks to the brilliant play of the goaltenders but also some other defensive adjustments. The team has worked on cutting down secondary scoring chances.
“We’re managing shots better,” said head coach Stacey Colarossi. “We’re picking up the first shot and getting it out.”
The goaltenders are also more involved, coming out of the net to play the puck off of dump-ins to start the breakout. Active goaltenders aren’t common in women’s hockey, but this change has proven useful to help clear the zone quickly and prevent turnovers in dangerous spots.
The penalty kill was a weakness last year, giving up 21 powerplay goals and operating at a lowly 71.2% efficiency. This year, the penalty kill has improved to 83.3% efficiency. Discipline has also been an important factor. In two games this year, the Voyageurs have not given their opponent a powerplay opportunity.
The team’s defensive play is a key component of their system, as the Voyageurs have never been an offensive powerhouse. When the team exploded for a 5-0 win over Ontario Tech November 23rd, it was the first time they’d scored 5 goals since January 6th, 2018, and their largest margin of victory since a 5-0 win against Laurier November 6th, 2016.
The team is scoring more this year, thanks in part to well-balanced offensive contributions. Second-year forward Karissa Hoskin leads the team with 6 points, and along with third-year forward Megan Arnott, leads the team with 4 goals. 8 players have at least 3 points, and 20 of the team’s 21 skaters have scored a point this year. 10 players have scored a goal, with 5 players having scored more than once. Last year’s recruiting efforts have also proved to be very successful, with rookie skaters contributing 11 points so far.
Despite balanced production, the team still averages less than two goals per game, and they don’t generate many scoring chances. The Voyageurs average around 25 shots for per night, and have only outshot an opponent once.
“We need to be averaging around 50 scoring chances per game,” said Colarossi, which should be equal to 35 or more shots on goal. She wants the team to work on their puck pursuit in transition, to generate turnovers and high-quality scoring chances.
One major area of concern is the powerplay, which has just 2 goals on 34 chances (5.88%). Converting at a consistent rate would go a long way towards helping the offence.
When asked about the powerplay’s struggles, Colarossi could only laugh. “I wish I knew the answer. We need to generate better chances instead of just shooting and missing the net because we go for the goal on the first shot.”
The team has two set powerplay units and they devote 20 minutes of practice to the powerplay every week. On game days, the coaching staff tries to give the units scouting tips to help with zone entry and finding the best shooting spots. One powerplay goal was scored off a deflection and the other from a scrum in the crease, so increasing the net front presence may lead to more goals.
The Voyageurs are at the midway point of their 24-game regular season, and they’ve played every team in the league once. With a record of 5-6-1 and 15 points, they are currently in tenth place and five points out of a playoff spot. However, in women’s hockey regulation wins are worth three points instead of two, so if the team can put together a win streak, they’ll find themselves right in the thick of things.
Last season, the team had a hot start, going 4-2-1 in their first six games and finding themselves in the fight for top spot in the league. Then the season was derailed by a stretch where the team lost 11 of 12 games, including a 9-game losing streak. The team closed out the season on a positive note, going 3-1-1 in their last five games, but the damage was done and they missed the playoffs by 11 points.
So far, there are already signs something similar will be avoided this year. The team hasn’t lost more than two games in a row, and if they lose the first game of the weekend, they always bounce back to win the second game.
The best example of this came on the weekend of November 15th and 16th: Friday night the women lost a tough game to the Ryerson Rams 6-2, a game where they controlled most of the play and outshot their opponent 34-33. On Saturday, they played the Toronto Varsity Blues, who came into the game as the top team in the OUA, the second-best team in U Sports, and with only one loss on the year. Thanks to their solid defensive play and strong goaltending, the Voyageurs were able to contain Toronto’s offence and won 2-1 in a shootout. In the relatively short 24-game schedule, there’s no time to dwell on a bad game so teams have to be resilient.
“We’ve got that bounce-back mentality that’s important for playoff teams,” said Colarossi.
When the season resumes in January, the Voyageurs will be on the road to face the Queen’s Gaels and Ontario Tech Ridgebacks January 3rd and 4th. After a game at the Nipissing Lakers January 11th, they will return home to play the Waterloo Warriors and Laurier Golden Hawks January 17th and 18th. The Voyageurs play five home games in 2020. There are no easy games, and every game will be important in the push for the playoffs.
Colarossi and the players are excited to see what the second half of the season has in store. “We’ve got a resilient group, everyone’s willing to work hard,” Colarossi said. “We’ll be ready to go January third.”
Stats courtesy of https://oua.ca/sports/wice/2019-20/leaders. Note: stats from the OUA website are incomplete, as stats from the Laurentian-Waterloo game October 25 have not been uploaded.