Katherine Purchase wins Rookie of the Year
At 18, Katherine Purchase is the youngest player on the team. | All photos by Brianna Thicke
Stingers goalie Katherine Purchase’s first year with the Stingers has surprised many.
Starting in net for the first round of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec playoffs tonight, the 18-year-old Halifax native has a .959 save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.07 in the regular season — the best in women’s university hockey in Canada. For these reasons, she has also been named the RSEQ Rookie of the Year.
Her accomplishments have far surpassed expectations. “I certainly saw her potential,” says Les Lawton, head coach of Stingers women’s hockey. “But she's way ahead of where we thought she was going to be at this point.”
Purchase was well aware that she would be the youngest member of the team when she arrived at the beginning of this season.
“I didn't know if they were going to think I was immature or something,” she says. “But once I got here, the girls made me feel really welcome.”
Purchase has developed close bonds with her fellow Stingers goalies, second-year Frédérike Berger-Lebel and third-year Briar Bache — a group Lawton says is “the best tandem in the country.” Purchase believes the competition between the goalies is “just a part of the position” and doesn’t affect their friendship or personal lives.
Instead, Purchase says having other skilled goalies on the team forces her to give her maximum effort.
“They work so hard, you feel bad if you don't work hard,” she says.
An 'unbelievable' work ethic
Working hard isn’t a foreign concept for Purchase. Alex Petizian, the Stingers’ goalie coach, attributes her success in the net to her “unbelievable” work ethic.
“Katherine comes to the rink every day focused and ready to play,” he says.
Even over the summer, Purchase would run eight kilometres twice a week to stay fit. She says it contributed to her athletisism, and Lawton agrees.
“She really worked hard over the course of the summer to come to camp in shape,” he says. “She gets what she has to do to play at an elite level.”
Her coaches believe she will have long-term success on the ice. Both Lawton and Petizian compare her to Canadian gold medallist and Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price because of her size — at 5’9” she is one of the tallest on the team — and her calm demeanor under pressure.
“If she continues to develop and play the way she is, I think she's got some national team possibilities,” Lawton says.
Purchase makes a save against McGill Martlets forward Leslie Oles on at the special Shoot for the Cure game on February 7. She made a total of 46 saves that day.
Academic excellence
Purchase has excelled both on the ice and in her academic work in the accounting program, in which she maintains a GPA of 4.3.
“She's obviously a high achiever, and her time-management skills are wonderful,” says Lawton.
Purchase, who takes three courses a semester, says she’s not overloaded with work.
“I think a lot of it comes down to scheduling,” she says. “Every day of the week, I designate times where I can go to the library before class or in between class and practice, and that helps me stay on top of my work.”
Cheer on Katherine Purchase and the Stingers women’s hockey team in their first playoff game against Université de Montréal. The puck drops at 7 p.m. on February 26, at Université de Montréal’s Centre de éducation physique et des sports (2100 Blvd. Edouard-Montpetit). Find out more about Stingers women's hockey.