The St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team has been successful at home the past few seasons and look to continue that trend this winter in the last season in the original Appleton Arena in front of SLU and North Country communities. SLU won two games this past weekend against Union and Rensselaer and are preparing to continue their impressive play after their bye week.

The SLU community has always appreciated its hockey players. Kayla Vespa ‘20 and co-captain Kalie Grant ‘20 have spent the last two seasons playing hockey here. “Once you come up here and see the St. Lawrence community first hand, and you recognize the energy and positivity that’s on campus and also at the rink and within the coaching staff, it really makes you want to come here,” Grant explained. “It’s fun and exciting to play in front of people that you know will support you in the Canton community and come to our games,” Vespa added about her experience at Appleton Arena.

Appleton has been home to the Saints for over 60 years and is a central part of the hockey program. “I think that Appleton has always been a huge part of why student athletes come here. When you walk into that rink every day, there’s no other place like it in college hockey. There’s definitely a pride attached to how we play at Appleton,” assistant women’s hockey Coach and Coordinator of Strength and Conditioning Mare MacDougall Bari stated.

This year’s team is full of leadership. “I think this team is such a nice balance between really good leaders and really good followers,” MacDougall mentioned. Vespa added there are 16 upperclassmen with 8 seniors and 8 juniors, making the team mostly upperclassmen. In addition to the player leadership, MacDougall added, “We’re the longest tenured staff in college hockey. This is our 11th season together. Ted Wisner, our associate head coach, and Chris Wells, our head coach who actually got his 200th win on Saturday.”

Appleton Arena has been home to SLU hockey since 1951. This coming year it is being renovated, but that has not stopped the SLU Women’s hockey team. They are still passionate about using the atmosphere in Appleton to their advantage.“I do think this particular year, with the impending renovation, there is a bit more emphasis on really doing Appleton proud,” MacDougall stated. “They are the last ones that will call that locker room home,” she added. This has been important to the players because they know they need to make the community proud.“We look forward to playing in Appleton every game,” Vespa mentioned.

The community at SLU and the greater Canton area has always been supportive of the hockey teams. Grant grew up in Potsdam and decided to continue her hockey career at St. Lawrence. “It’s a really small community, but people love to come out and support the games at SLU,” Grant explained. In addition, the community on campus has helped as well. “I would say that the culture of our team is similar to that of the broader St. Lawrence community,” Grant added about the culture of the team. “Everyone’s willing to sacrifice for one another.”

The Saints continued their impressive play at home on Friday versus Rensselaer with a 3-0 win and an away victory against Union, 5-0. While the team is focused on games happening now, they all have one common goal. “I think the process of building a team for us has always been getting us ready for ECAC playoffs,” McDougall said. The team is ready for that challenge later in the season. “This year’s team is really prepared for that and there’s something special with it,” said Grant.

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