Lakeland Rustlers Hockey Recap - December 2023
Lakeland College Athletics has enjoyed one of the best first semesters in it's history. In the coming days ahead of Christmas, we will be sharing a recap of each team's season thus far.
Results
If the inaugural season was memorable, then the Lakeland Rustlers women's hockey team's is having an unforgettable sophomore campaign.
Through the first 13 games, the Rustlers have gone 10-3, including 6-1 at home. They sit third in the league standings, just behind the defending champion RDP Queens and the NAIT Ooks. After dropping the opening game of the year in Red Deer, Lakeland swept the Queens the following weekend, giving them the tiebreak if the two squads finish with the same record. The Rustlers goal differential is just two back of both the Ooks and the Queens.
Highlights
In the weekend sweep of RDP, Olivia Mann scored five points. Last year's scoring champ Hailey Carothers had a hattrick in the team's 9-2 win over Medicine Hat. In the semester finale win against NAIT, goaltender Mackenzie Dojahn stopped 53 of 54 shots.
On Dec. 8, the Rustlers hosted their third annual Hockey Fights Cancer event, in which alumni and team supporters play a friendly game to raise funds for the Lloydminster Hospital. This year's game raised more than $15,000.
Statistics
Carothers sits first in the ACAC in goals with 12, third overall in points with 16. Both Kylie Perry and Darby Robertson are tied for sixth with 13 points, with Robertson second in the league for assists with 9.
Second Semester Outlook:
The Rustlers travel south of the border in January for a series of exhibition games against Arizona State University. Their first two league games of the semester are against the Queens, while they end the regular season with road and home games against the Ooks.
Coaches Stamp
Morgan Mann, Women's Hockey
"We're very pleased with the first half when it comes to wins. It's a really competitive battle with Red Deer and NAIT. We've played less games, but are right there, with each team taking wins off of each other."
"I'm pleased with the culture of our team, how the players treat each other and those who surround the team and support it. I think we're winning on and off the ice."
"We try and do a trip each year and in the new Year we're off to Arizona to play the Sun Devils. That's a really big trip and there's nothing better than traveling with a sports team. There's a lot of organization, fundraising and effort to put these together, but these are the experiences that you remember most."