Confidence in the crease
Shaylin McFarlane provides depth for UPEI Panthers’ women’s squad
Shaylin McFarlane is a Panther again.
The Douglastown, N.B., native has committed to the UPEI Panthers women’s hockey team for the fall and will study in the faculty of arts. McFarlane began her sports career by playing ringette when she was seven years old before quickly changing sports.
“I started my journey in hockey as a goalie with the Miramichi atom Panthers and becoming a Panther again is exciting and an opportunity that I’m grateful for,” she said.
“I’ve worked hard to have the opportunity to play hockey at the university level,” added McFarlane, the first of four new Panthers’ recruits to be announced this off-season. “I consider playing for the UPEI Panthers an honour and a privilege.”
The five-foot-seven McFarlane played for Rothesay Netherwood School in Rothesay, N.B., in 2018-19 and was a member of Team New Brunswick at the Canada Games in Red Deer, Alta., earlier this year. McFarlane was between the pipes as New Brunswick defeated Nova Scotia 3-2 in overtime in the seventh-place game.
Her coach at Rothesay Netherwood was Kayla Blackmore, who starred for the St. Thomas Tommies from 200813 in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference.
“I’ve been following Shaylin for a number of years – mainly through the Program of Excellence and the Atlantic Challenge Cup,” said Panthers’ head coach Bruce Donaldson. “Shaylin has great height, competes very well and has a great technical skill set. She does a great job covering the net, tracking the puck, and moving post-to-post.”
McFarlane said she looks forward to playing for Donaldson, who she described as a respected coach with a lot of AUS experience.
“His demeanour allowed me to feel comfortable throughout the (recruiting) process and made the decision easy for me,” she said. “UPEI has a beautiful campus, and I always enjoy my time in Charlottetown when I visit.”
McFarlane joins Camille Scherger, who played every minute of the season in the crease for the Panthers in 201819. Donaldson said while Scherger enters her third season as the clear-cut starter, she won’t have as heavy a workload this season.
“I think everybody needs a breather,” he said.
The Panthers went 14-13-1 to finish fifth in the AUS regular season in 2018-19 and were eliminated by UNB in the first round of the playoffs.
UPEI hosted the women’s national championship and lost two close contests with Montreal and Manitoba.
The Panthers, who will host the 2020 championship at MacLauchlan Arena, will have a similar look this season. The leadership team includes captain Rachel Colle and assistants Kaylee Dufresne, Jenna Pellerin and Sophie Vandale.
Donaldson said players are ramping up their off-ice fitness programs and are looking forward to getting together in September. The team will play a seven-game exhibition schedule before the season starts on Oct. 4 at UNB. They will participate in a tournament in Montreal during the Christmas break.