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A Look Back on the 2012-13 Season for the RMC Hockey Team
Adam Shell, Varsity Hockey Coach
The 2012-2013 Season for the RMC Paladins Varsity hockey team had many ups and downs. It saw the emergence of many new faces and showed great signs for future years. Although the win total was not what the team had hoped, many great strides were made as the program continues to build. The team was the youngest it has been since 2006 and showed all the characteristics of youth. We had energy, enthusiasm, effort, but also lacked experience and ability to make the key plays at key times. The season was highlighted by a very good performance versus Army and points versus McGill & UQTR. Individual highlights include Paul Dorsey who was named OUA East All Rookie Goaltender after a stellar rookie season. Alex Pym had a strong sophomore campaign along with 3rd year Colin Cook, 2nd year Scott McDonald and 1st year Eric Louis-Seize. All are expected to improve and have a greater impact next season.
The off season will include more on ice practice sessions as we continue to improve our skill and execution levels. We are very optimistic about the prospects of this recruiting class. With some good fortune this might be the most bountiful class to date.
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Canadian University Rugby Sevens Championship – 2013
Because of the generosity of donors through the Foundation the RMCC rugby players were able to participate in Langford, BC.
By: 18404 JOHN REIFFENSTEIN
As a Base Commander, I am always keenly interested in how we can invest in infrastructure to better accomplish our missions – particularly in resource-constrained circumstances, the link between infrastructure and the delivery of an effect is critical. I saw a superb demonstration of this over the past weekend as I joined the RMC Rugby Team for the University Sevens Championships at the Rugby Canada Centre of Excellence in Langford, BC.
I had the pleasure (because the ex-cadets won) of playing in the ex-cadet rugby game in September 2012 that served as the official opening of the Kingston sports dome. Last weekend I saw first-hand the effect that this infrastructure helped to achieve. I was also at the 2012 Championships, and the difference in the RMC side over the space of a year was remarkable. The heart, commitment, and tenacity were all on display, as they had been in 2012, but they were now employed within a structure devised by the coaching staff that made the most of these attributes. You could tell RMC had been practicing all winter on a full-size pitch from the coherence of the team’s tactics, and when other sides started to tire late on the first day, RMC’s superior match fitness was clearly a result of several tournaments they had played in the dome as preparation.
RMC opened the tournament against the UVic Norsemen, a side-featuring Adam Kleeburger who starred for Canada in the last World Cup. I think UVic frankly underestimated RMC, and they were lucky to come away with a 15-12 victory. One of the highlights was a tremendous dump tackle on Kleeburger by RMC’s Brandon Black. As Coach McDonaugh put it: “he wasn’t hit that hard in the World Cup”. RMC then lost narrowly 7-5 to UBC-Okanagan. Frankly, the result was a function of a tactical brain cramp in the dying seconds of the match, but this illustrates why the CF funds competitive sports; far better that our future leaders learn (through errors) to make good decisions when exhausted and under pressure when the consequences only show up on a scoreline.
RMC showed tremendous grit in bouncing back from this disappointment to beat Waterloo in the next match. They went up 14-0 in the first 2 minutes and never looked back. Following a loss to Western (another side featuring national-level players), RMC was slotted in a pool with the 9th through 12th seeded teams going into the playoffs on Saturday. RMC began well by defeating Saskatchewan in a come-from-behind thriller to get into the Bowl Final (to determine the 9th seed) against Humber. The atmosphere was tremendous for the evening match helped by a strong contingent of friends and families of the players, as well as a number of ex-cadets from the local area – both Rick Baxter ’89 and Mark Wilson ’90 looked like they could have kitted up themselves. The match was a see-saw affair that saw RMC hang on grimly though the final minutes to preserve a precarious two-point lead. They tackled ferociously as the fans willed the referee to blow the final whistle and the RMC contingent was finally rewarded with a 27-25 win. RMC finished 9th of the 15 teams in the tournament, and I look forward to watching them break into the top 8 for next year.