Wilfrid Laurier University
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Media Release

December 30, 2003

WOMEN’S HOCKEY COACHES APPOINTED AT LAURIER

For Immediate Release…

[Waterloo, ON] – Not one, but two new coaches will spearhead the Women’s Hockey team at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2004.

Following a nation-wide search, Richard Osborne and Brandy West-McMaster have been appointed as Head Coach and Assistant Coach respectively for the defending Ontario University Athletics silver medalists.

Osborne, a Team Canada evaluator and former head coach of the Ontario women’s under-18 gold medal champions at the Canada Winter Games (1995), has been appointed Head Coach of the Golden Hawks. Brandy West-McMaster, a former hockey team captain and MVP, CIS Top Ten Academic All-Canadian and athlete of the year at the University of Regina, will bring her expertise to Laurier as an assistant coach. West-McMaster has coached women’s club hockey in Regina and recently she had been selected as an assistant coach for the Saskatchewan under-18 provincial team.

“We have two great hockey people with excellent skills and credentials that fit our student-athlete development goals,” said Peter Baxter, Laurier’s Director of Athletics and Recreation, who announced the appointments following a nation-wide search. “Laurier has had a history of strong intercollegiate programs. Osborne and West-McMaster can nurture this success and also mentor our student-athletes.”

“This is a great opportunity for me to work with others at Laurier with an objective of enhancing one of Canada’s top university women’s hockey programs,” said Osborne, an advanced national certified coaching program graduate who has also coached club hockey (Mississauga Chiefs), provincial Junior A (Milton Merchants) and was a founding member of the National Women’s Hockey League. Osborne has coached many former and current members of Canada’s National team including former Laurier Golden Hawk and 2002 Olympic Gold Medal team member Cheryl Pounder.

“As a player, I have been involved with a university hockey program that has been to the national championships on several occasions and now I’d like to do it as a coach ,” said West-McMaster, who attended the Team Canada high performance and evaluation camp in 1998, was a former CIS player of the year, and also has her university hockey jersey displayed in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Interim coaches Jamie MacDonald and Gord Bullock will remain with the squad as assistant coaches. The two had temporarily offered to fill the void left when former head coach Bill Bowker had departed Laurier in October. Bowker had posted a very impressive 71-13-7 record including a Canadian silver and four provincial medals during his career at Wilfrid Laurier.

Osborne and West will join the Golden Hawks at the Theresa Humes Invitational – a major national tournament - from Jan. 2 to 4, 2004 at Concordia University in Montreal. The Golden Hawks, with an overall record of 7-4-3 (6-4-1 in OUA action) resume league play on Jan. 7 hosting the York University Lions at Clarica arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

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OWHA VALUES
Fair Play, Fun, Excellence, Good Citizenship,
Integrity & honesty, Equity.

OWHA MISSION
Through a provincially unified, collective voice, the OWHA promotes, provides and develops opportunities for girls and women to play female hockey in Ontario.