Living the Dream
Axewoman can’t remember a time not on the ice
An Acadia Axewomen hockey player who has spent nearly her whole life on the ice found that a lot of the skills were transferrable as she transitioned from one sport to another.
Laura Patterson, a fourthyear Kinesiology student, is in her second year with the Axewomen. Although she has played hockey before, this was a significant transition for her as she has played ringette for most of her life.
Patterson was on the Nova Scotia Canada Games ringette team in 2015, along with seven other players from Acadia. The team clinched seventh place at the games in Prince George, B.C., with a record of three wins and four losses.
Once the Canada Games were over, Patterson decided to try out for the Acadia women’s hockey team and has been playing regularly ever since.
“It’s different,” she said. “I’ve played a bit of hockey throughout my years playing ringette too but I’ve always focused on ringette, so it’s kind of nice to switch it over and focus on hockey now.”
Patterson said a lot of skills involved are transferrable, especially skating, a skill she “picked up early” playing ringette. Stick handling and shooting were aspects she had to work on after making the switch.
‘Good group of girls’
The Cole Harbour native said all the Axewomen players have been very committed to the team as they go through a rebuilding process and they have a lot of fun together. There’s a strong bond among the players, she says, especially this season. They try to stay positive and support each other.
“It’s a really good group of girls to play with, we have really good group cohesion,” Patterson said. “Even though our scores haven’t been great we have a lot of fun and we’re hoping to suck it up a bit once playoffs come around.”
With a playoff weekend coming in April, the women are putting their game faces on.
“We just have to make sure we play our own game and stay really concentrated” against the competition, she said.
Looking ahead
Patterson has applied to a couple of schools to take a masters program in occupational therapy after she graduates from Acadia. If the opportunity to play hockey presents itself, Patterson would love to continue pursuing the passion.
“I’ve been on the ice my whole life so I don’t think I’m ready to stop anytime soon,” she said.
She said her father played hockey and she was probably four years old when her parents first put her on skates. Patterson said she’s been wearing them ever since.
“I pretty much have been living in rinks my whole life and my little sister plays too, so it’s kind of in our family,” Patterson said.
The Axewomen are busy in the community, running hockey camps, volunteering time to help run the Hannah Miller Tournament and working with young female hockey players from local minor hockey associations.
The Axewomen and Kinesiology program have a combined community outreach program. One such event was a free public skate at Acadia following the March 5 game against Holland College in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Week.
“It’s a really nice feeling having so many people come out and just show their support,” Patterson said.