The Queen’s Women’s Hockey team has seen mixed results this season and The Journal sat down with Head Coach Morgan McHaffie to discuss.
Named Head Coach of the Women’s Hockey team in September, McHaffie is no stranger to the team. McHaffie played five years as a Centre on the team from 2009 to 2014, and has held the Assistant Coach role since 2014.
She told The Journal her late appointment to the Head Coach position meant the team lost out on valuable transition time.
“Even though we had great supports in place during that time,” McHaffie said, “We didn’t quite get to accomplish maybe some of the normal team building things we would like to do early on.”
The Gaels went 8-7-0 in the first half of the season. McHaffie said the weekend before winter break was huge for the team as they secured two 5-1 wins on home ice against the Western Mustangs and Windsor Lancers.
Moving into the second half of the season, the Gaels have somewhat started to find their footing.
In the games played since the first weekend of December, the Gaels have had a 6-3-0 record, contributing to their 12-10-0 overall season record. However, McHaffie said the mixed results aren’t unexpected.
“As we know, throughout success and a lot of seasons, it’s not that straight line up. You’re going to have those peaks and valleys and that’s just the nature of hockey,” McHaffie said. “The secondary piece of that is just the parity in our league. The OUA, it’s just so strong, and the gap between all the teams has really come closer, which is nice to see.”
The Gaels are currently ranked third in the OUA East Division, behind Nipissing University and the University of Toronto (U of T). They’re fifth in the OUA overall.
Though the Gaels have yet to clinch a playoff spot, McHaffie said they’re poised for the three tough opponents they’ll face off against before the end of the regular season.
The first is the Guelph Gryphons, who are ranked number one overall in the OUA.
The other two teams are Nipissing and U of T, one of which the Gaels will likely play against in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
“[We have] an opportunity in these next six games to show that we can compete for those playoff spots and also beat a team like Nipissing and Toronto,” she said.
“That’s our ultimate goal right now, and then just setting ourselves up for a good spot heading into playoffs and ensuring we secure a playoff spot.”
Looking toward the end of the regular season and the possibility of a post-season, McHaffie has a few goals for the team.
“One thing we’ve been trying to work on this year is just elevating our level of grittiness and just that toughness to play against factor,” she said. “We have some extremely skilled players and willingness to compete.”
The women’s team doesn’t draw a lot of penalties, according to McHaffie. One of the team’s big focus areas has been finding ways to challenge their opponents which would cause them to draw penalties. Spending this time on the powerplay will be a great opportunity for the Gaels to practice their special teams.
McHaffie explained how special teams are something else they’ve been trying to improve on as it can make all the difference in a playoff game. Examining video and practicing their penalty kills and powerplays will have a significant impact on the team’s success moving forward, but they need to draw more penalties first, she said.
The team will finish out their season with the same motto they have been working with all year: “For the Q,” which McHaffie explained instilled in her team that everything they do is for the team.
“Every off-ice lift, workout, your behaviour, everything around that you do and how you present yourself is for the team and for the Q,” she said. “We know that if we have a shot at making it back to an OUA final, every single player needs to be on board contributing.”
The Gaels’ final two home games are Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 against the Nipissing Lakers and the U of T Varsity Blues. OUA Playoffs are scheduled to begin Feb. 19.
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For the Q, Morgan McHaffie, women's hockey
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