By Reegan MacAulay
The Holland Hurricanes are four-time, and three-straight, Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) champions.
This past weekend, the women’s hockey team became the first team to win three-straight ACHA championships in league history . In a tournament that hailed the Hurricanes as the underdogs after recording a 4-5-1 (W-L-OTL/SOL) regular-season record with a young squad and brand new coaching staff, the fuel, drive, and inspiration to play better, prove their worth, and give Holland ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ a regional championship this collegiate athletics season showed in a Cinderella story for the ages.
The team went a perfect 3-0-0 across two days (Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9) at the 2025 ACHA Championship in Cape Breton, N.S., collecting two statement round-robin victories on Saturday and bringing the trophy back home with a 5-1 win against the first-seed Acadia University Axewomen in Sunday’s championship final. Holland defeated Acadia for regional gold for the third year in a row, earning them their fourth title in team-history. They saved their best and highest-scoring weekend for last after months of one or two-goal deficit results, recording 12 goals in three games (avg. of four goals per game vs. 2.6 with 26 goals across 10 regular-season games).
Four players were named to the 2024-25 ACHA All-Star Teams at the awards gathering after their first round-robin game. Captain and second-year forward Kristyn Taylor (Summerside, P.E.I.) and third-year forward Livi Lawlor (Sherwood, P.E.I.) were named to the first team. Second-year forward Kailey Lutley (Stratford, P.E.I.) and fourth-year goaltender Emma Arsenault (Searletown, P.E.I.) were named to the second team. Congratulations to all players!
The Hurricanes began their championship run on Saturday morning against the Axewomen, who went undefeated in regulation all season and hadn’t won a regional title since 2022. Holland was looking for their first win against them this season since last October. Nobody expected what was to come in the first period as Holland stomped Acadia with three goals within 16 minutes. Off the opening faceoff draw, Taylor gained puck possession, rushed into the Axewomen zone on the left-wing side, and sniped a top-shelf short-side shot eight seconds into the game. Later, third-year defenseman Hillary Quilty (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) fired home her first career ACHA goal, and rookie forward Gabrielle LeBlanc (Middleton, N.S.) scored on a breakaway with a forehand-backhand deke.
The Axewomen eventually got on the board with an early goal in period two, scoring off an odd bounce-in from behind the net. Holland never allowed them to score any more than one, and they added two more from second-year forwards Josie Lynch (Lunenburg, N.S.) and Josee Allain (Bouctouche, N.B.) to claim an upset 5-1 win. Taylor earned Hurricanes Player of the Game honours.
Later that day, the Hurricanes faced the hosting Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers, who were coming off a 2-1 loss against Acadia on Friday night. Holland had a slower start offensively compared to earlier, with the Capers dominating in the shot category. It took until the second period for the Hurricanes to catch the break they needed, as Taylor scored a rebound goal to make it 1-0, and later, she fed a behind-the-net feed to Lawlor in front of the net, who extended Holland’s lead to 2-0. From there, the game returned to a defensive clinic for the Hurricanes, with Arsenault having to come in clutch multiple times. Ultimately, she saved her first shutout this season for the most important game of them all; her 36 saves earned her Player of the Game honours and gave the Hurricanes a 2-0 win, a perfect 2-0 round-robin record, and an automatic berth in Sunday’s championship final.
While Holland earned extra rest Sunday morning, the Axewomen (1-1) and Capers (0-2) were forced to play in an early-morning semifinal match to decide who would face the Hurricanes for regional glory. Acadia found the high-scoring touch they had lacked on Saturday, winning 4-0 and creating a Holland vs. Acadia championship game for the fourth consecutive year. Going into the game, the Hurricanes sought three consecutive regional titles while the Axewomen hoped to claim their first since 2022.
Sunday’s championship game was as playoff-esque as you could ask it to be at the beginning, with each team exchanging shots back and forth and entertaining fans with nail-biting action. While the scoresheet was quiet in the first period, the second period was an entirely different story.
Rookie defenseman Ella Marshall (Bridgetown, N.S.) broke the silence with a shot from the edge of the high slot through an open lane and past the Axewomen goaltender, scoring her first career goal as a Hurricane to make it 1-0. About seven minutes later, a scary moment behind the Axewomen net saw Lynch get cross-checked into the boards face-first, which led to a match penalty and ejection against Caroline Steeves. Thankfully, Lynch skated away under her own power and later returned with an incredible display of resilience.
The Axewomen penalty, which gave Holland a five-minute player advantage, would prove costly as Holland exploded for three more goals, with two more coming from rookies. Taylor added her third goal of the weekend with a wrap-around jam-in along the post, rookie forward Adyson MacGillivray (Fall River, N.S.) fired a shot from the top of the right-wing faceoff circle which soared over the goaltender’s shoulders, and rookie forward Emma Carey (Yellowknife, NT) scored her first goal of the weekend.
With the Hurricanes 20 minutes away from creating history, the squad was given one final motivational speech in the dressing room to be on alert that the Axewomen could come out flying and to hold their emotions back and seal the deal. While Acadia eventually got on the board about halfway through the third period with a five-hole goal in the low slot, Arsenault made numerous clutch saves against a tired Axewomen squad running out of time.
More tensions ensued as the final minutes approached, as Isabel Doucette was handed a match penalty and ejection after unsportsmanlike conduct after the whistle. The Hurricanes took advantage by piling on one more goal to close the game and the tournament with another 5-1 win and the championship; Taylor recorded her fourth of the weekend with a high shot from the top of the high slot that found its way through traffic. Lawlor earned Hurricanes Player of the Game honours.
The women’s hockey Hurricanes’ season is now completed, and the dynasty continues. Stay tuned over the off-season as exciting roster news and recruits will be announced.
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