By Reegan MacAulay
The 2024-25 women’s collegiate hockey season is on the horizon for the Holland Hurricanes and many other teams across the Maritimes and Canada - and it will begin with a bang.
This weekend, hockey fans will be treated to a Thanksgiving weekend special with the inaugural “Island Cup” set to debut and be hosted at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, P.E.I. across four days between Friday, Oct. 11 and Monday, Oct. 14.
First announced in June, the four-day event will be a monumental milestone for women’s collegiate hockey in Canada and will welcome five elite teams from across the country to showcase the exceptional talent the sport offers. There was no better place to pick as the main venue than the Eastlink Centre, home of the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and renowned for its modern facilities and recent history of hosting big hockey events, including three in 2023 - the Canada Winter Games, University Cup, and World U17 Hockey Challenge.
The Holland College Hurricanes will host the event and welcome four teams - the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Trojans from Calgary, AB, Les Diablos du Cégep de Trois-Rivieres from Trois-Rivieres, QC, Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers from Cape Breton, N.S., and the Mount Academy Saints from P.E.I.
“We are delighted to bring the Island Cup to life, celebrating with collegiate women's hockey players from across Canada," said Albert Roche, Director of Athletics and Recreation at Holland College. "This event is part of our process to develop the sport and create opportunities to showcase women’s hockey. We have always valued our role as hosts and as a catalyst for collegiate sports. We look forward to welcoming all teams to PEI and to giving our team a chance for high-level competition.”
Emma Arsenault (Searletown, P.E.I.), a fourth-year star goaltender for the Hurricanes, can’t wait to start her final season with the Island Cup. “It’s incredible to see it come to life. Knowing all the work that’s been put into it behind the scenes, I have to give hats off to our athletics department and everybody else involved. It’s a player’s dream come true,” Arsenault said.
Emma Carey (Yellowknife, NWT), a first-year forward for the Hurricanes, will be starting her women’s collegiate hockey career in the same province she travelled to in 2023 for the Canada Games with the Northwest Territories women’s hockey team.
“It means a lot (to be part of the Island Cup). It’s a big and important event coming up, the biggest they’ve (the Hurricanes) had, and it’ll be good to show what we can bring to the table and how we can compete with these other teams that we’ve never played before,” Carey said.
Matt Carter (Mississauga, ON), the new head coach of the Hurricanes, is thrilled to get his tenure started with the Island Cup.
“It’s going to be awesome. We have teams coming here with lots of experience, some that have played together for a bit now, so the competition is going to be strong. For an event of this nature, it brings a lot of excitement and it’s good for the game around here. I think it’ll give our team that extra bit of energy to get ready for the (Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association) season,” Carter said.
The event will begin on Friday, Oct. 11 with a game at 2 p.m. AT and 11 a.m. MT between the Holland Hurricanes and SAIT Trojans. That same day, the Hurricanes will be at a Charlottetown Islanders game at 7 p.m. to participate in a ceremonial puck drop as part of a partnership with the organization announced earlier this week. The Islanders organization is offering a special Island Cup group ticket package for local women’s and girls’ hockey teams across P.E.I. with 20 player tickets and three coach tickets for just $200.
The rest of the schedule is as follows:
Saturday, Oct. 12
3:30 p.m. AT / 2:30 p.m. ET - Holland College Hurricanes vs. Les Diablos du Cégep de Trois-Rivieres
6 p.m. AT / 3 p.m. MT - Cape Breton University Capers vs. SAIT Trojans
Sunday, Oct. 13
3:30 p.m. AT / 12:30 p.m. MT / 2:30 p.m. ET - SAIT Trojans vs. Les Diablos du Cégep de Trois-Rivieres
6 p.m. AT - Holland College Hurricanes vs. Cape Breton University Capers
Monday, Oct. 14
11 a.m. AT / 10 a.m. ET - Cape Breton University Capers vs. Les Diablos du Cégep de Trois-Rivieres
1:30 p.m. AT - Holland College Hurricanes vs. Mount Academy Saints
Tickets for the Island Cup can be purchased on game days at the Eastlink Centre. Tickets are $5, with an event pass costing $20.
All games will be broadcast on the Holland Hurricanes YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/@gocanesgo.
Connect with the women’s hockey Hurricanes at www.instagram.com/caneswhockey and www.x.com/caneswhockey.
For more information on the Holland Hurricanes, please visit www.hollandhurricanes.com, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes, www.x.com/hc_hurricanes and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.
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Tel: 1-800-446-5265 | Fax: 902-629-4239