Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawk Club
“Building Champions, Building Traditions” Volume 5, Issue 1 Message from Dr. Bob Rosehart Golden Hawk Athletics has long been part of the proud heritage of Wilfrid Laurier U n i v e r s i t y. Whether you are participating as an athlete, a supporting student, alumnus or friend, your contribution to the success of our programs over the years has been much valued and appreciated. At Laurier, we believe that learning goes beyond the lecture hall and involvement in Golden Hawk athletics is a valuable leadership experience that serves our student athletes throughout their lifetime. A new spirit of enthusiasm and renewal in Golden Hawks athletics has evolved at Laurier and this could not have been done without your participation and support. We continue to invest in new fitness equipment, renewed physical facilities and have placed a considerable emphasis on the recruitment of exceptional coaches along with high quality student athletes with both outstanding academic and athletic credentials. The spirit of the Hawk logo stands proud and tall and 2004/2005 promises to be an exciting season. We look forward to your participation. Golden Hawk Club Mission Statement “A means of providing Alumni and Friends of Wilfrid Laurier University with an opportunity to help build the best interuniversity athletics program in Canada.”
Summer 2004
The Long Road To Victory
The Women's Hockey Team returned to provincial preminence after last year's disapointment in the OUA final.
The Women's Lacrosse Team captured OUA Gold after an unprecedented undefeated season.
The Golden Hawks came to the 2003-2004 season with scores to settle on a number of fronts, as 2002-2003 had not been particularly kind to many of Laurier’s teams. The year thus promised to be one of resurgence - teams who were well regarded for their skill would again have the chance to prove themselves to their competition. From the season's beginning, the Hawks set out to better last year's results, and to the surprise of some outsiders - and to the satisfaction of all Hawk fans - the Laurier teams did as was required: they excelled. For the Women’s Hockey team, 2003-2004 brought a chance to reclaim the glories lost in the 2002-2003, when questionable calls in the OUA finals had cost them the provincial championship and a chance to return to defend their national silver medal. The ladies took to the ice in October, with a single goal in mind: they were to recover their OUA gold and their place at nationals. This was no mean challenge, as the Hawks’ star goalie, Cindy Eadie, had left the team to join the National Women’s Softball squad, leaving the construction of a new defensive arrangement to newcomer Emily Stein. As the team became accustomed to the switch, the first games of the season proved unusually rocky, and the women gave up uncommon losses to Guelph and Windsor by mid-November. It was November that also saw perhaps the most significant change in the ladies’ situation - from behind the bench, Head Coach Bill Bowker parted ways with the team. Despite this loss of familiar leadership, the team pressed on, and kept the hopes of OUA gold alive until the arrival of new Head Coach Rick Osborne. With finals at hand, the Hawk women found
themselves in playoff contention, but not in their accustomed position as first in the league. Guelph had secured the division top spot, but in the last game of the regular season, the Hawks delivered a 2-0 trouncing to that team, giving them renewed momentum as they hit the OUA playoffs. As Laurier hosted the OUA Women’s Hockey Championships in Februrary of 2004, a climactic air settled over the Golden Hawks - could they manage a come-from-behind victory? They certainly could; Brock fell 3-1 to the ladies in the first round, and then in what was arguably the Championship's most crucial game, the Hawks delivered a decisive 4-3 defeat to their longtime rivals, and last year’s champion Toronto Varsity Blues. Carrying momentum from such a dramatic win, the gold medal game against Queen’s proved almost a foregone conclusion, and the Hawks came away Golden with a 3-1 win. They would head back to Nationals. But Nationals, as it turned out, would not be glad of their return. After a single overtime loss to Saskatchewan, the team was relegated to fifth in the country because of an ambiguous ranking system that the CIS acknowledged could have been interpreted in a number of ways, one of which would have placed the Hawks in first overall, and sent them to the gold medal game. Despite the minor shadow cast by this baffling ranking system, the fact remained: the Women’s Hockey Squad was in fine form and was ready to drive even harder in 2004-2005. While the Hockey ladies had a dramatic run to their gold, the Laurier Women’s Lacrosse team had a smoother path to the top of the
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For more information please visit our website at
www.laurierathletics.com