By Reegan MacAulay

It will be another busy few days for the Holland Hurricanes with five sports in action over the upcoming weekend. From championships to regular season finales, here is everything you need to know for what no doubt will be a thrilling weekend of action.

Women’s Soccer

The Hurricanes concluded their regular season with a close 4-3 win over the University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils, erasing a 3-0 deficit to come back and complete a perfect 12-0-0 regular season.

They head into the 2023 Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) Women’s Soccer Championships as the perennial favourite. This year’s edition will be hosted by the Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics.

The ‘Canes hold first seed and will begin the tournament on Saturday facing the St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies in the semi-finals at 10:00 a.m. The Tommies hold the fourth seed with a 5-6-1 record and will have momentum from a two-game winning streak to conclude their regular season.

It would be a huge boost for the ‘Canes to win the conference championships as they host the 2023 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Soccer National Championships in Summerside, Prince Edward Island next month.

Tournament passes for the 2023 CCAA National Women’s Soccer Championship are now on sale to the public ($30 for adults, $20 for students) at the Credit Union Place box office in Summerside, and the Holland College McMillan Centre in Charlottetown at 323 Grafton Street.

Connect with the women’s soccer ‘Canes at www.twitter.com/caneswsoccer and www.instagram.com/caneswsoccer.

Men’s Soccer

The Hurricanes hold the third seed heading into the 2023 ACAA Men’s Soccer Championships with an 8-2-2 record. They will begin the tournament on Saturday facing the UKC Blue Devils in the semi-finals at 6:00 p.m. The Blue Devils hold the second seed with a 9-1-2 record and completed the season with a seven-game winning streak.

The ‘Canes will be looking for revenge as their final game of the regular season was a 1-0 loss to the Blue Devils. The regular season series between the two teams went in favour of the Blue Devils 1-0-1.

Follow the action this weekend by connecting with the men’s soccer ‘Canes at www.twitter.com/canesmsoccerand www.instagram.com/canesmsoccer.

Additional information on the ACAA soccer championships this weekend, including live broadcasts and results from all matches, can be found at www.acaa.ca.

Women’s Rugby

The Hurricanes have a lot to be excited about as they head into the weekend in the first seed with a 6-0 record.

Their final regular season match is in Fredericton, New Brunswick on Saturday at 2 p.m. versus the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Reds. The Reds currently hold the third seed with a 4-2 record. In regular season action, the ‘Canes have played the Reds once, winning at home 55-0.

The ‘Canes will look to keep their perfect streak alive heading into the ACAA Women’s Rugby playoffs next month.

Connect with the women’s rugby ‘Canes at www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanesrugby.

Cross Country Running

The Hurricanes are headed to Truro, Nova Scotia this weekend to race in the 2023 ACAA Cross Country Championships. This year’s edition will be hosted by the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus (Dal AC) Rams. Dal AC will also be hosting the CCAA Nationals next month.

The female runners are coming off a fifth-place finish at the Mount Allison University meet last weekend. Their run this Saturday begins at 11:30 a.m. on a six-kilometre course.

The male runners are coming off a fourth-place finish at the same meet. Their run this Saturday begins at 12:30 p.m. on an eight-kilometre course.

For full event results from this weekend, visit www.acaa.ca. 

To connect with the cross country running Hurricanes, visit www.instagram.com/holland_hurricanesxc.

Football

This Saturday is going to be an intense day for the Hurricanes football team. Due to a cancelled game earlier in the regular season, the season is on the line as the ‘Canes look to secure a spot in the 2023 AFL (Atlantic Football League) Championship game.

The ‘Canes visit the Dalhousie Tigers in Halifax, Nova Scotia with a game set to begin at 7 p.m. Since the cancelled game was not rescheduled, the game will be worth four points. Whoever wins will secure a spot in the AFL Championship Game against the UNB Reds on November 11.

It’ll be the final regular season game for the Tigers and they head into it with the second seed and a 2-2 record. Meanwhile, the ‘Canes hold the third seed with a 1-2 record and have one more game to play after this Saturday against UNB on November 4 in Charlottetown.

In regular season action, only one game has been contested between the ‘Canes and Tigers, with the latter earning a 32-23 win on Oct. 7.

If the ‘Canes win this Saturday, their record will double to 3-2 and they will clinch a spot in the finals. If they also win their final regular season game against UNB on Nov. 4, they will claim home field advantage in the championship game.

For more, visit www.atlanticfootball.co.

Connect with the football ‘Canes at www.facebook.com/canesmfootball, www.twitter.com/canesmfootballand www.instagram.com/canesmfootball.

Basketball

Hurricanes basketball is back! There’s a lot to be excited for as the 2023-24 Holland Hurricanes basketball teams begin a new season and hope to build something special en route to hosting the 2024 ACAA Basketball Championships in Charlottetown at the McMillan Centre on the weekend of March 1-3, 2024.

This Sunday, the ‘Canes begin the new regular season with games for both the women’s and men’s teams at the McMillan Centre against the STU Tommies.

The women’s team is coming off a 2022-23 season where they finished in the second seed with a 14-4 record. Their championship run was cut short in the semi-finals against the MSVU Mystics.

This year’s women’s team will have many new faces. Women’s basketball head coach, Chris Connolly, is excited about what they’ve seen so far.

“We are excited to get out in front of our fans at home this weekend against a tough STU Tommies team. We have a lot of new faces this year and everyone has been working really hard at practice. They are all contributing at a high level and are wonderful to work with.”

Connolly mentioned Lauren Armstrong and Alexa Rancourt as key players heading into the new season.

“Armstrong was the league’s Rookie of the Year last year and has stepped up as a leader on the court this year. Rancourt was a big off-season pick up for us, transferring from Crandall. She was the league’s leading rebounder last season.”

The men’s team is coming off a historic 2022-23 season where they finished in the first seed with a 13-5 record. They earned their eighth ACAA championship with a victory over the STU Tommies in the finals.

This year’s men’s team will also see a lot of new faces – only two players are back from last season’s championship team. Head coach, Tim Kendrick, says the new season will be a work in progress.

“We are really looking forward to ACAA action. We will stress hard work and competing at both ends. Our players are buying in well to our culture and expectations. We certainly expect to improve every time out.”

Kendrick mentioned Diangelo Woodside, Bryce Corless, and Ambrose Johnson as key players heading into the new season.

“Woodside, our 6’6 power forward, has had a big impact early. Corless and Johnson will be looked upon to carry our offense.”

The women’s game begins at 2 p.m. and the men’s game begins at 4 p.m.

To connect with the basketball Hurricanes, visit www.twitter.com/caneswbball, www.twitter.com/canesmbball, and www.instagram.com/hurricanesbball.

For more information on the Holland Hurricanes, visit www.hollandhurricanes.com, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes, www.twitter.com/hc_hurricanes and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.

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