Thunderbird women in hunt for first Canadian university hockey championship
It’s been quite a ride for the five University of British Columbia Thunderbirds who helped the women’s hockey team go from poorhouse to power house.
UBC (23-4-1) is the top seed heading into the national women’s championship starting Thursday in Napanee, Ont., and will open the tournament against the host and No. 8-seeded Queen’s Gaels.
Current captain Stephanie Schaupmeyer of Kelowna, B.C., North Vancouver’s Nicole Saxvik, Haneet Parhar of West Vancouver, Jenna Carpenter-Boesch of Gray, Sask., and Emily O’Neill of Oakville, Ont., joined a team five years ago that had won just one game in 2011-12.
Under new coach Graham Thomas, the Thunderbird women won the Canada West conference for the first time in the school’s history in 2013. They finished fifth at the national championship that year.