UNews - Pronghorns captain

Semester break offers European adventure

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:30:08 +0000

Chandy Kaip has experience organizing European trips for women's hockey programs. She's looking forward to actually taking the trip this Christmas.

Kaip and the Pronghorns women's hockey program will head to Europe Dec. 26 through Jan. 5, 2011 to participate in the inaugural European Women's Gold Cup tournament. Some 18 months of planning has gone into the excursion that is now, just days away.

"This had been in the back of my mind since I first took the job here," says Kaip, now in her third season as the Horns' head coach. "It's something I really wanted to do for our girls."

The Pronghorns women's hockey team is headed to Germany and Austria for the 2010 Europeam Women's Gold Cup tournament.

Kaip had helped organize a similar trip to Finland for Adrian College, her previous employer. After having done all the legwork and putting the trip in place, she departed Adrian for the job with the Pronghorns, never realizing the fruits of her labour. Even without actually experiencing the Finnish excursion, she knew how valuable a trip like this could be for a program, and built much of her recruiting class at the U of L off its merits.

"I think the fact we had this trip planned brought in quite a few of our top recruits," says Kaip. "We decided to do it this year because we have the opportunity to keep the core of our team together for the next two years. For them to have this experience and then stay together as a group for another year or two, I thought would be very beneficial."

Horns' captain Kathryn Manson is in her fourth year with the program. The environmental sciences student is thrilled at the opportunity.

"I grew up in Dinsmore, Sask., a small town of 375 people. I never actually thought I would be given an opportunity to play overseas," she says.

The tour takes the group through Germany and Austria, and will see the team play games against professional clubs from Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The excursion will also offer the chance to tour the castles of Innsbruck, visit the Bavarian Alps and experience the magic of Salzburg.

"We are also going to visit the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany," says Kaip. "We really wanted to make the most out of this opportunity culturally, and the girls are really looking forward to learning as much as they can about these areas."

A total of 57 people will be making the trek, as the Horns opened participation to family members.

"My mom is coming with me on the trip and I am very excited to be able to share this life experience with her," says Manson. "Both of my parents have always been so supportive of my hockey, and to be able to share this with my mom will be wonderful."

The team has been busy fundraising for the past 18 months to support the excursion, needing to raise about $2,700 per player. While it has taken a lot of work to raise the necessary funds to go to Europe, Kaip says that, given the effort, there's an added appreciation for the opportunity.

"It's always nice to have things handed to you but at the same time, when I took over this program, this was one of the main things I preached, if you work hard, you will get the reward," she says. "It's a part of life in general and it translates to the ice as well. It helps the girls realize that the rewards do come, but only after a lot of effort, time commitment and hard work."

Manson agrees, and says the team has grown closer as they work together toward a common goal.

"We've received unbelievable support from family members, faculty members and businesses throughout the community," says Manson. "It is much more rewarding that we have worked towards making this trip possible. Our team is a very hardworking group of girls and I think this shows off-ice in our schoolwork and in workouts, as well as on-ice in our practices and games."

The greatest reward might yet come down the road. Playing against European professional teams, the Horns have the chance to impress scouts for when they leave university.

"I would love to continue playing," says Manson. "For most girls, once you finish playing CIS, it seems like there are very few opportunities to continue your career. A trip like this continues to open the door for Canadian girls wanting to play in Europe. We're very fortunate to have this opportunity."

GET THE FACTS

• Fundraising initiatives for the trip included the sale of STARS calendars, providing support for the Lethbridge Oldtimers Hockey Tournament, and allowing the Alberta Cup tournament to use the Horns' new team room at Nicholas Sheran Arena in the spring, for which they received a generous donation.

• Former Pronghorns captain Kendal Tremblay is currently playing for the Austrian team that the Horns will face in tournament play. Tremblay and her father will then join the Horns for their cultural excursions.

• Both the German and Swiss teams consist of players from their Olympic programs.

• The Horns will celebrate New Year's Eve at a party in a Salzburg, Austria castle.

For a look at the full issue of the December Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Patzer, Langevin earn national awards

trevor.kenney — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:36:38 +0000

Fifth-year ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge fly-half/fullback Ashley Patzer was named player of the year in Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's rugby for the second time in her career, Thursday night.

The Lethbridge native, who was first honoured in 2006, became the third double MVP since women's rugby was added to the CIS program back in 1998. St. Francis Xavier's Ghislaine Landry earned back-to-back MVP nods in 2007 and 2008, while Alberta's Heather Denkhaus claimed the trophy in 1999 and was a co-recipient in 2000.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ashley Patzer, Lethbridge

Patzer is one of the most decorated players in the short history of CIS women's rugby. The five-foot-two Pronghorns captain was named CIS rookie of the year in 2005, was chosen MVP of last year's CIS championship when she guided the Pronghorns to their second straight national title, and is now a two-time CIS player of the year (2009, 2006) and four-time all-Canadian (2009, 2007, 2006, 2005).

In her fifth and final university campaign, Patzer tallied a Canada West-best 40 points in four outings – four tries, seven converts, two penalty goals – as the Pronghorns cruised through the regular season outscoring their rivals by a 217-7 margin over four wins. In the playoffs, the 22-year-old was named game MVP of the conference final after she scored 15 points on a try, two drop goals and a pair of converts to lead Lethbridge to a 30-0 win over Alberta and a fourth straight Canada West banner.

A third-year kinesiology student at Lethbridge, Patzer is a member of Canada's senior and sevens national teams. In 2006, she captained the Canadian U19 squad to a win over England.

"Ashley has reinforced her reputation as an all-round phenom," said Lethbridge head coach Neil Langevin. "To call her dynamic would be an understatement. She has continued to be an inspirational leader for her teammates and has developed to be one of the top players in the world."

StFX's Ghislaine Landry, Laval's Claudiane Renaud and McMaster's Nina Bui were the other nominees for CIS MVP honours.

Other CIS major award winners announced during the All-Canadian Gala include Concordia's Hughanna Gaw of Elgin, Que., who was named the nation's top freshman, Bishop's Frances Bajdik-Bova of Ottawa, who received the Student-Athlete Community Service award, and Lethbridge's Neil Langevin, who was named coach of the year, an award presented by Coaches of Canada.

COACH OF THE YEAR: presented by Coaches of Canada: Neil Langevin, Lethbridge

Langevin became the first coach from a Canada West program to be named CIS coach of the year.

In his 10th campaign at the helm, Langevin guided the Pronghorns to a 4-0 regular season record, a 2-0 playoff mark including a 30-0 win over five-time national champion Alberta in the gold-medal final, and a fourth straight conference banner. In six Canada West meetings, Lethbridge outscored its opponents 333-7. On Sept. 12, the 'Horns also travelled to Antigonish, N.S., where they scored a 17-12 exhibition victory over the 12-time AUS champion StFX X-Women in a rematch of last year's CIS final, won 29-15 by Lethbridge.

The only head coach in Pronghorns history and a two-time Canada West coach of the year (2009, 2002), Langevin led his troops to the podium in each of their four previous CIS championship appearances including a bronze medal in 2003, silver in 2006 and back-to-back Monilex trophy triumphs in 2007 and 2008. A schoolteacher in the Lethbridge School District, he served as head coach of Canada's senior national team from 2004 to 2007 – including a fourth-place finish at the Rugby World Cup in 2006 – and was at the helm of the Canadian U23 squad in 2003.

"Neil has done a wonderful job building a program that we are very proud of," said Lethbridge executive director of sport and recreation Sandy Slavin. "Neil and his staff have worked tirelessly over the years, building a championship calibre team from scratch."

Saint Mary's Dawn MacDonald, Bishop's Eryn Hessian and McMaster's Sandro Fiorino were named coach of the year in the AUS, QSSF and OUA, respectively, in 2009.

ALL-CANADIAN TEAM

The all-Canadian team was also announced on Thursday with both Ashley Patzer and teammate Ashley MacDonald being named from the Pronghorns. It is the second straight honour for MacDonald and fourth overall for Patzer.

UNews - Pronghorns captain

Semester break offers European adventure

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Patzer, Langevin earn national awards

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