In the afterglow of Saturday's 3-1 victory over Quinnipiac, the women's hockey team's seniors were honored in a post-game ceremony as the team both reflected on its accomplishments and turned its attention to seasons to come.
The star of the ceremony - and the season - was captain Nicole Stock '09, a Herald sports staff writer. She leaves holding many of the team's goaltending records, including a single-season saves record she set earlier that day and Brown's record for career saves - 2,848 in all.
After the game, Stock was awarded the Panda Cup, which is given for "outstanding team spirit, good sportswomanship and dedication to playing ice hockey," according to a guide provided by the Athletic Department at the game.
"It's nice, for sure, to be acknowledged for that kind of stuff," Stock said. "At the same time, it's a long season. You just grind it out and you don't really think about that stuff when you're playing."
"It's bittersweet to be losing Stock," said Head Coach Digit Murphy. "She's just an incredible person and athlete. Quite frankly, Brown's lucky to have her as a graduate, because she's going to go on to do great things. She's got the work ethic of any Olympian I've ever coached."
Murphy also said her two senior forwards both closed out their careers with strong games.
Frances Male '09 "played with energy and enthusiasm - like she had the heart of a lion," Murphy said. "The third goal was scored because of her ability to ... get it out on the (penalty kill) all the way down and allow (Nicole Brown '10) to go down and do the wrap-around."
Savannah Smith '09 "really fought hard along the boards," she added. "She's small in stature but I thought she played big today."
Murphy said the young team will get older, but the Bears will bring in more recruits than they will lose players to graduation.
"We'll bring in seven or eight more kids," she said. "We need to be more talented to win more games, so my assistants have been out beating the bushes for even more talent. I think we'll bring in a few more talented forwards so we can put the puck in the net. We have a goaltender, one of the top goalies in Canada."
Murphy declined to name the goalie, but the Waterloo Chronicle reported earlier this month that Katie Jamieson, a goaltender who currently stars between the pipes for of the Toronto Junior Aeros will join the Bears next year.
"I think next year's team, with the kids that are here now, is going to be stronger," Murphy continued. "Our kids are going to be wiser. We're going to have a big senior class. I'm looking forward to success of our future, and I think it starts because of senior role-modeling that happened this year."
