Varsity Profile: Triple Threat, Lady Vees Hockey

Stats:

Name:  Samantha Morell, Taylor Weber, Taylor Philip

Jersey #: 25, 88, 17

Position: Right Wing, Center, Forward

Favourite Restaurant in Sudbury: Ripe, Tap house, DiGusto

Favourite Store in Sudbury:  Treasure Hunt, Bulk Barn

Sitting at 4^th place in the OUA, the Laurentian Voyageurs Women’s Hockey team is poised to make another strong run this season, after making history last year in what was their first post-season appearance.

Currently rebounding from a tough two game streak with a huge 4-1 victory over Brock, who find themselves just behind Laurentian in the standings.  The big win brings the Lady Vees to 6-4 overall (currently) and looking to build on their momentum.

We sat down with a few of the teams standouts to talk about the 2016-2017 season.

Heading into November, after losing your first game of the season, how did it feel to rattle off a four game win streak?

Samantha: It feels good to have some momentum moving forward, especially to build off of our performance last year! We had a bit of a win streak going early in the season, and hopefully we can use that to get the monkey off our backs to prove that we can make the playoffs.

Taylor W: It felt good to start the year off with a big positive note. Definitely gets things rolling right away.

Taylor P: It’s early in the season but it helps set the tone for the next few games, and gives us positive vibes as a team.

Samantha: We ran into a few problems last year due to our rocky start to the season, but losing some of the games we should have won gave us that bit of motivation at the end, and we could’ve held a better standing heading into the playoffs.

Obviously last season was a milestone for the program and the team, the expectations must be pretty high for this year?

Taylor W:  Of course we want to make it back to the post-season/playoffs, and hopefully with a better standing for matchups. We don’t want to end up in last place and face the top team right out of the gate.  We’d ideally like to be floating around the top.

Samantha: A home ice advantage would be nice! To be able to play in front of our home crowd would be great!

What was a highlight that really stood out for you as a team?

Samantha: Definitely when we beat Laurier 5-0, that was a great game for us, of course. We’ve never beat Laurier to that extent and they are obviously a strong team and it didn’t help that we were playing a late game haha. It was a good look to show how far we’ve come as a program in only four years. They used to beat us in that fashion, and we’ve turned it around! 

Taylor W: It’s pretty cool to see what has happened in the league, those who were the lower end of the standings are now the top teams, because they are beating the well-known teams.

Taylor P: We scored quite a bit in the pre-season and now almost all of our games we are averaging at least 3 goal. So that’s encouraging.

Taylor W: We also had our spring training camp up here, and we had the chance to meet all of the rookies, ran fitness tests, a lot of team bonding, sleeping in the basketball gym as a team.

Samantha: It was nice to get through the awkward stuff first, you know, meeting new people before the season starts.

Taylor P: It definitely helped the rookie’s feel comfortable coming in, getting to know everyone.

Let’s talk a bit about school for a minute, tell us a bit about your studies? What would you like to do after your time at LU?

Taylor W: I study Sports and Physical Education in the Con-Ed program, and I’m a third year student.

Samantha: Sports and Physical Education in the Con-Ed program as well and I’m a fourth year student.

Taylor P: I’m studying nursing and I’m in my third year.

Samantha: I’d like to be teaching somewhere. Looking to teach grade seven or eight, but I’d love to take the opportunity to teach abroad, maybe go overseas to Scotland.

Taylor W: I know for sure that I want to be a teacher as well. Particularly kindergarten, I love working with the kids.

Taylor P: With nursing, I’d love to work in the hospital but I can also go abroad if I want to there are a lot of options to choose from.

What does it mean to be a Voyageur? 

Samantha: I think we have a unique experience as Voyageurs, especially for me. I came in at the inaugural year for the program, I was there when the team first started. I feel like we created something special, and laid down the foundation. I cant wait to come back in a few years and see where it goes! I feel like we started a tradition. It’s a very humbling feeling for me. 

Taylor W: Taylor and I both came in the following year, so we had those vets like Sam to show us the ropes. We were the official rookies of the team, we got experience having some depth to the team. It was a funny time being new.

Samantha: It’s interesting when we talk to our friends who went off to other schools and other teams, and comparing our experiences, because we didn’t really know where we were going or how we were going to do. But now, we have a full generation from first years, second, third and fourth year girls on the team. The program has really developed.

Taylor P: For me, what makes us unique as a team, is how close we are. We spend a lot of time together, every weekend on the road. Compared to teams down south who might not travel as much. We definitely formed a tight-knit bond.