CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – It’s a big weekend for the Holland College Hurricanes women’s hockey team as the Eastern Canadian Women’s Hockey League (ECWHL) squad host the Acadia Axewomen for games today and Sunday.
Today’s game goes at 7:30 p.m., at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, while Sunday’s game starts at 9:30 a.m. at Credit Union Place in Summerside.
The ‘Canes (5-3) enter the weekend in second place in the ECWHL standings while Acadia is third (1-7).
First-place UNB (6-2) is two points ahead of Holland College and ‘Canes head coach Ryan Maxwell wants to gets his team ready for the post-season after the holiday break.
“After building some momentum at the end of 2017 we are ready to get back into action against Acadia this weekend. There is always a bit of rust with an extended layoff and I expect a couple of hard-fought games. It will be integral for us to be first to the puck, win the battles and keep it simple,” said Maxwell.
The ‘Canes lead the season series 3-1.
Hurricanes second-year forward Sam Higgins leads the league in scoring with 10 points (six goals, four assists) in seven games and credits hard work and her teammates for her offensive success.
“It’s been a team effort, but I’m happy to have had a great first half and I’m hoping to continue it for the rest of the season,” Higgins said. “As a team we’ve had a strong start to the season thus far and the team is looking to continue this success. We’re familiar with Acadia having played them four times this year so we know what we’re up against. If we do all the little things right it should be a successful weekend for us.”
Mackenzie Koughan, a second-year ‘Canes goaltender, agrees with Maxwell how important these two games are for building momentum.
“We've played well against Acadia this season. We are excited to get back after the break and we know how we need to perform this weekend,” said MacKenzie, who is 3-1 with a 1.50 goals-against average and two shutouts. “Our goal is to get the second half of the season started well by playing two solid games on Saturday and Sunday.”
Megan Titcomb has been the top goaltender for Acadia this season, registering a goals-against-average of 1.33 in three starts with a record of 1-2-0. Offensively Maddie Bourque, Madison Firth, Keisha Kane, Hilary Dort and Melissa Atkinson are all tied for the team lead in scoring for the Axewomen with two points.
Holland College hosts the Atlantic collegiate women’s hockey championship March 23-25 at the Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre in Montague.
