Two more quality players for Lady Tommies

Coach Peter Murphy is not going to be satisfied until he gets an AUS Championship banner hanging from the rafters and this may be the year. The Lady Tommies have added a pair of dandies to their already impressive line-up for next season. One is a home grown talent with deep Tommies roots and the other is a hard working Saskatchewan girl.

Amy Kelbaugh hails from Springside, Saskatchewan which is approximately 250 KM northeast of Regina. She has played the past three seasons with the Weyburn Penta Gold Wings of the Saskatchewan Female Midget Hockey League and lead her team in points, not to mention the team MVP. A leader on her team, Amy is going to be a great asset to St. Thomas. (How can you not love Saskatchewan players? The home Province of Mr. Hockey - Gordie Howe.)

“Amy is a speedy forward with great determination on the puck. She is a great skater and looks to make the difference in every game as shown by her five game-winning goals last year. She will add to our depth at the forward position and will make any line she plays on better,” said Coach Murphy.

Amanda Burns comes to STU after playing last year at Kent Hills prep school of Maine. A native of New Maryland, her father Chris Burns played for the men's Tommies back in the 90's. Here is a great article about Amanda by Bruce Hallihan of the Daily Gleaner.

"She's a powerful skater and she has the ability to see the ice," [Kim] Nanof said. "I think it comes really naturally to her. She's one of those kids who sees the
game before it happens. She's more defensive-minded but when she plays with
confidence, she also has a really great ability to rush the puck."

Burns played for the Fredericton High School Lady Black Kats hockey team when she was 14, but Kayla Blackmore, a former Lady Kat now in her rookie season at St. Thomas, went to Kents Hill in Grade 9.

Blackmore returned home so she could play for New Brunswick at the Canada Games, but she enjoyed the experience and encouraged Burns to try that route. Another STU player, Lyse Rossignol, graduated from Kents Hill.

We are looking forward to seeing both of these great athletes play for the Green and Gold. To read the full STU Athletics press release CLICK HERE.

Daily Gleaner Article by Bill Hunt

Jason Cassidy moves up to the big leagues...

...of blogging, that is. We'll give Tommies fans a moment to regain your collective breath.

3rd year Tommies winger (and STUTOMMIES.COM blogger) Jason Cassidy is being featured as an Insider at The Hockey News with his own blog. Consider us the minor pros of hockey blogging. But you've got to get started somewhere. We're really proud of Jason, and are excited to see the exposure he'll receive which will help him toward his goal of becoming a journalist, as well as the attention he'll bring to STU's hockey program and to the journalism program at St. Thomas.

In Jason's first entry, he examines the difficult choice to be made by a graduating junior hockey player between pursuing a professional hockey dream or attending university.

I’d love to continue my career and work towards making it to the big leagues, but what if I don’t make it? Have I wasted that education package? Have I made any progress that will support my life after hockey?

A wise Tommies fan once said, "you have to be good enough to play in the pros, but smart enough not to". We're thankful Jason made the smart choice.

Jason gives some attention to, and extols the virtues of playing for STU:

I decided on attending St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., a team led by former NHLer Mike Eagles. It’s a small campus with a community feel and for those who haven’t been, eastern Canada is a fantastic place. In Ontario people get lost in the crowd, but in the Maritimes everyone is someone.

Congratulations on your great accomplishment, Jason. Looking forward to seeing you on the ice this fall, with our vote to change that "A" on your chest to a "C".

Tommies hockey school in full swing

From the Daily Gleaner:

The first of what Eagles says will be an annual hockey school put on by the Tommies for area youngsters between the ages of 7-12 has been going on this week at the Lady Beaverbrook Rink.

Fifty-five youngsters from the city and surrounding areas such as Minto, Stanley, Sussex, etc. signed up for the week-long school that is being held in advance of the annual pre-season camp STU puts on for local teams at the end of August.

2009-10 Schedules Released

Schedules for all AUS sports for the upcoming season have been released. Click the links for the Men's and Women's schedules. More to come...

P.S. We encourage you to follow the AUS on Twitter, for near-instant news updates. While you're at it, follow STUTOMMIES.COM on Twitter too!

(UPDATE) SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS:

For the third year in a row, the Tommies Men will open on the road in Moncton (Oct. 16th) while the home opener will be the following week hosting St. FX (Oct. 23rd). The first Battle of the Hill will be at the LBR (Oct. 28th) with the annual Lou Chabot Memorial game opening the second half (Jan. 8th). The regular season wraps up on the road at Saint Mary's (Feb. 13th). Both the quarter-finals and semi-finals are Best 2-of-3 with the finals a Best 3-of-5. The quarter-finals are Best 2-of-3 with both the semi-finals and finals Best 3-of-5.

The Tommies Women also open on the road against St.FX (Oct. 16th) and won't play their first home game until they host St.FX two weeks later (Oct. 30th). Interestingly, the Tommies host Dalhousie on Halloween at the LBR, a 7:00 pm start. Curious if the Tommies will elect to take a page from Dalhousie and St. FX on the men's side and play on Saturday afternoon? The Women wind down the regular season at home against Moncton (Feb. 21st). The AUS Championship is in Moncton this year (Feb. 25th - Feb. 28th) while St. FX will once again host the CIS Championship (Mar. 11th - Mar. 14th)

Also, we're told that CKTP will be back as the Tommies' broadcaster for next season. Great news!

Alexandre Labonte commits to St. Thomas

Former Saint John Sea Dog and Victoriaville Tiger player Alexandre Labonte has agreed to play for the Tommies this fall. Pending an AHL contract, Labonte will enroll in the Criminology program at St. Thomas and looks forward to playing for a quality coach in Mike Eagles.

While in Victoriaville, Labonte found his scoring touch as he lit the lamp 22 times in 07-08 and 23 times in 08-09. His knack around the net will be a welcomed addition at STU, if he doesn't make the AHL. He should be in great condition after attending a pro camp and we look forward to seeing him in Green and Gold. Welcome Alexandre. L'Express Drummondville Article