The UVic Vikes women’s field hockey team is back on the pitch this weekend against the Calgary Dinos for a pair of Canada West games.
It’s the Vikes’ first varsity matches since sweeping the Dinos 6-0 and 2-0 in Calgary on Sept. 21 and 22. Game time is 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday on the main field hockey turf at UVic.
The Dinos (0-6) have struggled this season with just one goal in six games while the Vikes (2-0-1) and UBC Thunderbirds (4-0-1) have yet to meet. Rain cancelled the Vikes’ home game against the Thunderbirds on Sept. 28, which was later ruled a 0-0 draw, while the Sept. 29 game will be made up Oct. 26 in Victoria, just four days prior to the CIS national field hockey championships at UVic, Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.
The Thunderbirds were the first team to qualify for the CIS championships and the Vikes are looking to follow suit.
The Vikes are coming off a 4-0 win on Oct. 5 over the Sharks in the premier division of the Vancouver Women’s Field Hockey Association.
In addition to this weekend’s Vikes game is the 16-team Bridgman Cup high school girls field hockey tournament on the water-based and rubber-based field hockey turfs at UVic, Friday (Oct. 11) through Sunday.
Four Greater Victoria teams are competing: Oak Bay High, Glenlyon Norfolk School, St. Michaels University School and Mount Douglas secondary. There is general parity among the Lower Island teams this season, a rebuilding year for Oak Bay, which is getting some much needed game time this weekend, said team manager Alison Hastings.
“We (have) eight players in Grade 9, but still have a well-balanced team,” she said.
On Monday, Oak Bay defeated GNS 3-2. Oak Bay also tied Mount Doug and lost to Claremont.
The Bridgman Cup starts at 10 a.m. Friday with GNS facing North Vancouver’s Handsworth. Other games will see Mount Doug play Crofton House at 11 a.m., SMUS vs. Cowichan at 1 p.m., Kelowna vs. GNS at 2 p.m., Argyle vs. Oak Bay at 4 p.m. and SMUS vs. Carson Graham at 5 p.m.
Pool play continues Saturday as Francis Kelsey plays GNS at 8 a.m., Mount Doug plays Gleneagle at 9 a.m., SMUS draws Little Flower Academy at 10 a.m. and Oak Bay plays South Delta at 10 a.m.
Playoffs start at 1 p.m. Saturday, following the Vikes vs. Dinos game, and continue through Sunday morning with the bronze medal game at 1 p.m. on Sunday and the gold medal game at 2 p.m.
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