PHOTO COURTESY OF MHC RATTLERS
The Medicine Hat College Rattlers women's hockey team pose before their exhibition game in Red Deer last Saturday.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat College Rattlers women’s hockey team made history last weekend stepping on the ice.
The club hockey team made its debut Oct. 22 in Red Deer as the Rattlers took on the 2021-22 ACAC champion Queens. Medicine Hat lost 8-0 but head coach and Rattlers manager of athletics and recreation Terry Ballard says the score was not important and just getting in the game was a reward for the team.
“They played incredibly well, they worked really hard and it was an incredible experience and really positive,” Ballard said. “We’ll build on the fact that we were a little nervous to start the game, and rightly so. As the periods went on the team got better and they got more confident.”
The college announced in mid-July the introduction of the program on the basis of garnering enough interest from girls not only at the college but those a year-to-two away from post-secondary.
Dylan King, a second-year occupational therapy assistant and physiotherapy assistant student who is on the hockey team, says getting a chance to be a part of the inaugural program is an honour.
“I’m hoping we bring awareness to it and people who are looking at colleges for next year consider coming here so they can play hockey, so we can keep the program going,” King said.
King is a product of Saskatoon and says she’s already reaching out to girls back home to join up in the years to come.
“I’ve texted some of the younger girls I’ve played hockey with or helped coach and I’ve been like hey, they’re going to have a hockey program, They said, ‘Well Medicine Hat is pretty far.’ But some people will do anything for hockey.”
Ballard says they entered the game with three forward lines, five on defence and one “incredible goalie.” Kinlee Fahselt stopped 62 shots in the game against Red Deer.
Before their matchup with the Queens, the Rattlers had just over 10 practices after starting in late September. Their ice time is at 6:15 a.m. which has impressed Ballard with the attendance levels and work ethic the girls have shown at that time of the morning.
“The fun part of it is the effort that these young girls are showing,” Ballard said. “We have a couple young guys who are helping out as well and there’s also another instructor here in the college, Chad Baron, who used to work with the SEAC teams. So he’s helping out and they’ve been tremendous to work with.”
Second-year nursing student Brynn Kuntz says the early morning practices have allowed her to balance her school workload while also playing the sport she loves. Kuntz played hockey for 15 years in her hometown of Estevan, Sask. and is looking forward to further getting to know her teammates and get better throughout the year.
“We just have to improve each game honestly, because we’re a new team, we’ve never played together,” Kuntz said. “It’s just us trying to gel together and I think as long as we improve each game that’s perfect.”
The Rattlers don’t have a full season schedule, but their next contest comes on Nov. 5 when they travel to Didsbury to face Olds College before hosting SAIT on Nov. 13 at the Big Marble Go Centre for a 5 p.m. contest.
Ballard is looking forward to having the team play in front of local fans.
“There were a lot of parents that traveled to Red Deer, which was a little surprising for me and was kind of cool,” Ballard said. “I think we’ll have some pretty good support in the homestand, so it’ll be fun.”
Playing in Medicine Hat will be second nature to first-year sports and event marketing student Serina Grona, a Medicine Hat product. But the game of hockey is one she is still learning after playing ringette throughout her childhood.
She says her parents were every excited to hear she was playing hockey with the college and she’s enjoyed the process of learning the new sport.
“I’ve always loved hockey and I was a bit of a traitor to my family because I played ringette instead, but when I told my parents I was playing hockey this year they were jumping for joy,” Grona said. “The first day on the ice everyone was asking how was your first practice and it was very humbling.”
Grona says their game against Red Deer was a wake-up call as they became more and more of a team and saw what they were capable of. She says they’ve quickly banded together as a team due to the early morning skates and she’s excited to get better with the group.
“Early mornings do it because we’re all in this together now, just grinding through and getting to know each other because you’re all going through the same thing,” Grona said. “We’re all doing a full course load and we’re playing hockey on the weekend.”
