For the first time in five years the women’s hockey team is heading to the Hockey East playoffs. They’ll be playing into March thanks to the stick of junior defender Katy Applin, who scored the game-winning goal in the third period Sunday against Vermont, earning her Huntington News Player of the Week honors.
‘ The team needed leadership after a tough seven win season last year and the hiring of a new coach, Dave Flint.
Applin has stepped into that role with ease, getting elected as a co-captain by her teammates.
‘I just try to lead by example,’ Applin said. ‘Hard work and trying to keep everybody focused on the same objective, which is winning hockey games.’
As a native of Palmer, Alaska, Applin said she knew she was going to have to travel a long way from home to play hockey in college, describing it as ‘a little bit of a commute.’
The Division 1 program closest to her hometown was the University of North Dakota, which is still a huge trip, she said.
Because of this Applin said she decided distance wasn’t going to play a factor in her decision for school.
She made official visits to two Ivy League schools, Yale and Princeton, but said she decided against them because they didn’t give enough athletic scholarships.
She said she talked with fellow Hockey East schools Vermont and Connecticut as well. A major factor in choosing Northeastern was the academics, she said.
‘ Applin said she loves outdoor activities.
She is an avid mountain biker and hiker. She said she occasionally takes trips up to New Hampshire to enjoy the outdoors.
Going into this season, the defender had 17 points on two goals and 15 assists. Most of her scoring came in her sophomore year when she tallied a goal and 12 assists for 13 points.
Entering this weekend, Applin has come close to matching her career-high with 12 points on the season.
This includes four goals, one of which was the playoff clincher, and eight assists.
‘ Applin and the team are looking forward to the playoffs in a week and a half, she said.
‘[Making] it to the playoffs was one of our main goals,’ Applin said. ‘We accomplished that and once we are in, it is a whole [other] season. We would love to make it to the championship game. Obviously we are the No. 6 seed, we are not expected to. But any of the three teams we will probably end up playing first, we’ve beaten those teams, and we are a strong team. You just have to win one game at a time so you never know what will happen.’
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‘ ‘- Nathan Vaughan,
News Staff