The Olds College Broncos are all set to hit the ice at the SportsComplex on Thursday, October 10th.
Their ACAC women’s hockey home opener will see them take on last year’s provincial champions – the NAIT Ooks at 7pm.
Olds College started the brand new regular season with a 5-2 loss at Red Deer Polytechnic last week. This will be the opening game of the year for NAIT.
Forward Jerika Pashniak from Bonnyville was an Assistant Captain for the Broncos last season and this year she will wear the ‘C’ on her jersey. She says “it is an honour to be the Captain. It’s a great feeling knowing that my teammates look up to me and trust me to be in this position. I think just someone who, you know, does all the right things. I don’t think necessarily being vocal is the most important thing. I know some people think of a Captain as being, you know, really loud and talking all the time but I think just someone who works their hardest and leads by example. I’d say one of our old Captains, Jesse Jack and Syndey Jack. They were both really great leaders on our team. They always there to help anyone who needed it and I just think they were really great examples.”
Pashniak is in her fourth year with the Broncos and last season she posted 6 goals and 10 points in 24 games. She hopes to lead them to the postseason this year. Pashniak says “I think we have a team with lots of energy. We have six rookies this year and they’re all doing really well so far. They’ve all found a way to fit into our team and so it’s really good to see. I think that we have a good mix with vets with lots of experience too and so I think that we will be a really strong team.”
Pashniak adds, home openers are always exciting – especially for the rookies – so she thinks everyone will be ready to go.
Meanwhile, the Olds College Broncos women’s hockey team has a partnership this season with the Olds Minor Hockey Association and Pashniak has had a chance to get out on the ice a few times with the U7 and U13 girls. She says “I really enjoy it. I hope that we get to get out there more because I think everyone had a lot of fun. I think just, you know, showing them some tips and stuff. When I was young we always had the junior ‘A’ players come out to our practices and it was always really exciting having an older hockey player out there to look up to. So I think just being a good example for them and being something that they look up to.”
According to the Broncos, the partnership with Olds Minor Hockey will be phased approach with a focus on mentorship and culture for the 2024-2025 season.
