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Yellowknife is where 4-year-old Maddie Nicholson played in her first pickup ice hockey game. This is where she sparked her love of being on the ice.

The sprinkling of girls on a traditional boys’ team is still commonplace — nearly every girl on Shawnigan’s inaugural Female Varsity team got her start skating and hitting alongside boys. But it wasn’t until she switched to an all-girls team at age 11 that Maddie realized that hockey was more than just a game.

Following a move to Whitehorse with her family in 2007, Maddie played on an under-16 identification team and was selected to play on a travelling team in British Columbia. It was there that she met her future Shawnigan teammate and Kaye’s House roommate, Sarah Rourke.

The friendship proved pivotal. The transition to boarding school was difficult, but more manageable knowing they were going through it together.

“The first week was rough,” Maddie said. “The hardest thing was just being surrounded by kids who are really smart. [I] come from a small town and it just hits you — this is the first time I’ve ever boarded.”

Sarah, whose start in hockey mirrored Maddie’s, says playing on an all-girls team within the structured life of a boarding school helped re-energize her love for the sport.

The Smithers native says there was mounting pressure at home to live up to.

“You get a lot of attention where I live. There’s 5,000 people and I’m the only girl who plays hockey — I didn’t like all that attention,” Sarah said.

“I went through this phase where I just hated hockey,” she said. “It just put so much stress on me and I wanted to quit.”

But it was Shawnigan that changed her attitude toward hockey, she said. Both girls echo the sentiment: Shawnigan is where they are meant to be.

With only five teams in the CSSHL Female Varsity division, traveling to the mainland for games is commonplace. Game days often include ferry rides and long roadtrips.

Delaney Aikens and Colby Wilson race back to the docks on a paddleboard during a team-building challenge on Shawnigan Lake.

Head coach Carly Haggard runs a practice in the Charlie Purdey Arena. One of the draws for hockey players at Shawnigan is dedicated time on the ice.

Inside Planet Ice in Delta, Shawnigan’s Female Varsity players shove their heavy hockey bags into locker room cubbies. Two weeks after the start of the year, they’re playing their first game. They’re pitted against the early favourites — Delta Hockey Academy — and the team is nervous.

Head Coach Carly Haggard assesses the facilities and finds a blank spot on the locker room wall to tape up her “Three Keys to Success.”

1. Battle & Compete
2. Communication
3. Play 60 Minutes

For Haggard, the philosophy of identifying specific goals will help her team and the coaching staff focus on the competition at hand. A holdover from her time as a player, Haggard says the Three Keys enable her team to visualize plays on the ice and, if followed, win the game.

“I want to kick their asses,” she tells assistant coach Kristie Sykes. “We’re a good team.”

The team settles into the locker room, taping sticks and listening to music. It’s quiet. In a few moments, they will strap on their helmets and step onto the fresh sheet of ice.

Sarah Rourke and her roommate, Maddie Nicholson, work on homework in their Kaye’s dorm room.

Gracie McAllister, Emma Hansen and Kiara Stecko play floor hockey before their season opener in Delta.

Gillian Moore takes a selfie with Ruby and Tinker, Head Coach Carly Haggard’s dogs, during the team’s summer hockey camp.

“I don’t want to [go] out in the first round of playoffs,” team captain Ashley McCabe said. “I want to go far with this team.”

The sentiment is repeated by nearly every player. Building camaraderie before the season even began was something Haggard thought about a lot when she made the move to Shawnigan from Australia last summer.

“The biggest thing was just getting to know the girls,” she said. “I didn’t know a lot of them before I came, and having 19 new girls who had never played with each other [was going to be a challenge].”

Recruiting a world-class coach who played collegiate hockey at Dartmouth and professional hockey in Switzerland was just one achievement in Mark Hall’s final year before retirement. Tasked with building a brand-new team and a new program, Hall started in the fall of 2015, travelling up and down British Columbia searching for the best players in the province. He needed to not only find girls who would play well together, but also those who were ready and willing to make the transition into a boarding school.

“He was super friendly,” Ashley said. “He just made it seem like it would be a great experience — and it has been.”

Ashley, who grew up in Lillooet, said she was hesitant but ultimately willing to make the jump to Shawnigan. The guarantee of ice time, playing in an elite all-girls league and an advanced academic program were driving factors in the move.

“It’s been different, not like having your own house, but I like it — I get to room with my cousin. It’s definitely made things a lot more fun.”

After Hall’s retirement in the spring, it was up to Haggard to make the team mesh well with each other and the School.

“They’re at a new school, so they’re trying to find that balance — I think it was a little overwhelming for them, but [it was my job] to get everyone to jell on and off the ice and make them feel like Shawnigan was their new home.”

A hockey camp at the end of August, right before an influx of students in September, was crucial, she said.

Camped out in the Hyde-Lay Pavilion, the team did at least two on-ice sessions per day coupled with social team-building activities and exploring the campus.

At that point, “It just felt right,” Haggard said. “They were here for academics and hockey, and at no point did I question coming here or question who chose Shawnigan for the team.”

The scoreboard in the arena ticks down from a five-minute warm-up period. Ashley and the Delta captain skate to centre ice for a ceremonial puck drop.

The buzzer sounds and the first period is underway. The Delta girls are bigger, but Shawnigan has speed on its side. In no time, Delaney Aikens sends a puck flying into the Delta net for Shawnigan’s first goal.

Delta regroups at centre ice and mounts a formidable attack. They respond with a goal of their own, and the first period ends tied 1–1.

Back in the locker room, Haggard gives them a few minutes before she enters.

“We have to be aggressive.”

“Their defense is slow — we can get them there.”

The girls chime in with advice and encouragement.

“This game is ours.”

Goaltender Colby Wilson tapes her stick in the locker room before the team’s first game of the season against Delta Hockey Academy.

Sarah Rourke manoeuvres the puck toward the goal during the team’s showcase weekend in October.

Sarah Rourke and Georgia McLellan take a break in the locker room during an intermission.

Outside, Haggard meets with a defender to explain a specific play on a whiteboard. Inside, the girls chug a water and Powerade mix, as beads of sweat trickle down their faces.

“OK — first period is over,” Haggard said. She makes no concessions. Instead, she highlights specific areas where she knows her team has an advantage. She’s confident her team has the chops to play against Delta.

At the start of the second period, the girls are focused, concentrating on getting more shots on goal. Delta scores in the first 60 seconds.

Haggard is frustrated, worried that her intermission talk did nothing. The team settles and leans back on their fundamentals. They create momentum, and an assist from Ashley sets up a Mishayla Christensen equalizer. Delta responds: 14 shots on the Shawnigan goal, and at the start of the third period, the score is tied 3–3.

Delta is aggressive. They earn two penalties for roughing and bodychecking, but Shawnigan cannot connect during the ensuing power plays.

As the final period winds down, the defenders do their best to hold off a mounting Delta offence. With less than one second remaining, a Delta blast bounces off the post and into the Shawnigan goal.

Just like that, the girls’ debut ends in heartbreak.

The team packs up their gear and hauls equipment back to the bus. They settle in for a long trip back to the Island. Haggard is still fuming over the loss, but it’s a long season and she’s ultimately optimistic.

She also knows that, beyond a long season, the girls have much to look forward to.

“I want them to realize opportunities are out there for female hockey players,” Haggard said. “They can go to university, they can play professionally in Europe — I really want to help them on the path that is right for them.”

She knows the girls are dedicated to training and developing as a team. There is even talk of expanding the program to add a second girls’ team in the more advanced Prep division.

“It’s amazing to see the talent and just the amount of females who are involved in hockey in so many capacities. Twenty years ago, I never would have thought this would happen,” Haggard said. “It’s amazing to see the evolution of the game. I can’t wait to see where it’s going to go.” ■