By Anil Jhalli
A historic first national championship, an NCAA player-of-the-year award, and a special bond between two long-time Ottawa hockey teammates and friends – it couldn’t possibly have been a better end to the college careers of Jamie Lee Rattray and Erica Howe.
The 21-year-old Clarkson University seniors led their Golden Knights women’s hockey team to the Potsdam, NY school’s first-ever NCAA Div. 1 championship in any sport on March 23 when they prevailed over the top-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers 5-4 in Connecticut.
“It has been so crazy,” recounts Rattray, who scored a goal and an assist in the championship game and was named Frozen Four Tournament MVP. “Everyone just rallied behind us and as a team, it was a lot of work that just paid off. I loved coming to the rink everyday and I just love my team.
“This was just a season to remember and I am going to cherish this for a very, very long time.”
Rattray also brought home the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as NCAA women’s hockey player of the year, the final crown in her college hockey career where she amassed a whopping 181 points, a Clarkson record.
“I am honoured to receive these accolades,” signals the Kanata native. “But honestly, this team was a big part of everything and how I’m feeling after everything that has happened, there is no better feeling. And to win the way we did, and played as we did, as a team, it is a feeling you can’t beat.”
Howe and Rattray share quite the history together, dating back to their days growing up in Ottawa. The national champs were first teammates with the Ottawa Senators of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League and even celebrated a gold medal together as members of the Canadian team that won the 2010 IIHF U18 World Women’s Championship before heading off to Clarkson together.
“Winning gold that year, it was just amazing and an experience that I will never forget,” underlines goaltender Howe, who snapped Minnesota’s 27-game unbeaten streak with her 34-save performance in the final. “But this, to win this, the way we won it, all that support from the community, the school, everyone, and it was just so special. All the dust has finally settled and everything has just sunk in now. This is definitely #1 in my books and the best moment of my hockey career so far.”
Both feel that Clarkson was the ideal choice for the next step in their careers because of the hockey environment, a staff of 10 coaches, the community, and just the overall passion for hockey.
“I was told that the (coaches) were going to work me really hard, and for some reason, it really just stuck with me and I saw this as a great challenge,” Howe recalls. “And it has truly been one of the best experiences of my life so far, and I am glad that I made the decision that I did.”
It also helped having a familiar face there to settle into an unfamiliar environment.
“It was easy having Jamie there,” Howe reflects. “We talked about everything and it was nice to have someone I could talk to and help when I needed it.”
With sparkling NCAA careers in the books, the local players would now like to chase a place on Canada’s Olympic team for 2018.
“Ultimate goal, for sure,” Rattray says. “That’s the next step and that’s been a dream.”
Howe would also like to make it to the biggest stage in women’s hockey.
I am going to keep working hard and see how I can get to that next level,” pledges the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Seconday School grad. “It would mean so much and be such an accomplishment.”