By: Shannon Blackmore, BA'19
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The St. Thomas University Tommies women's hockey team didn't get off to the start they wanted in the 2017-2018 season, but after dropping their first three games, they bounced back to win nine of their last 11.

With a bid to Nationals as their main goal, the Tommies have been working towards beating their local opponents and winning the conference.

"We want to work on transitioning out of our zone more effectively," Tommies head coach Peter Murphy said.

"We will continue to work on special teams as needed and implement new systems as required for various opponents. The biggest thing is intensity in practices."

Focusing on intensity in practices has been paying off during competition for the Tommies squad. That intensity will be their driving force as they take on teams like STFX and SMU in the second half of the season.

"The league has shown tremendous parity. If you don't show up to play you're going to lose. That's the intent of our goal for intensity at all practices," Murphy said.

Many of their first-half matchups were tightly contested. In November, four out of the Tommies eight games went into overtime with two of those being wins, and two resulting in losses.

With the first half behind them, the Tommies are third in the AUS women's hockey standings with 20 points on the season and a 9-3-2 record.

The Tommies will hit the ice again to kick-off the second half of their season at 7:00pm on Friday, January 5  when they take on the Saint Mary's Huskies in Halifax.