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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-02-03, Page 22 News Record • Wednesday, February 3, 2016 Former locals connect through university hockey Charity Matheson Stephanie Sluys plays goalie for the University of Waterloo Warriors women's team. She is in her second season with the team after having won the OUA Rookie of the Year for the 2014-2015 season. CLINTON NEWS RECORD WILL BE CLOSED ON MONDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2016 DEADLINE FOR CLASSIFIED & DISPLAY ADVERTISING WILL BE 2PM THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11 FOR THE FEBRUARY 17TH EDITION Valerie Gillies Clinton News Record Two graduates of Clinton schools have taken very different paths at different times and have now come together through hockey as coach and player at the University of Waterloo. The Waterloo Warriors women's team is having its best year ever. They are currently in the num- ber two position in the Ontario University Athletic (OUA) stand- ings, the highest standings the Waterloo program has ever achieved. Warriors goalie Stephanie Sluys was born and raised in Clinton. She attended St. Joseph's Elementary School and graduated from St. Anne's Sec- ondary School. Sluys describes her history in hockey. "Growing up I played hockey with the boys in Clinton which then became BCH. I eventually moved on to girls hockey, playing for the Sea - forth Stars, the Saugeen Mait- land Lightning, the Kitchener/ Waterloo Rangers, Durham West Lightning and finally for the University of Waterloo." Sluys is in her second year in Honours Kinesiology. Jory Elliott accepted the posi- tion of goalie and stats coach and assistant on the bench at the University of Waterloo in 2015. Elliott's family moved to Lon- densborough in 1990. He attended Hullett Public School and went on to graduate from Central Huron Secondary School. His start in hockey was as a goalie for the Blyth Bulldogs then the Brussels Bulls. Elliott relates, "My first coaching job was as Head Coach of the Clin- ton Beavers Minor Peewee House League team in 1999 at the age of 19, while playing my final season of competitive hockey." From there he spent 11 years in London working with several different teams, includ- ing the London Jr Knights Midget AAA program before accepting the position in Waterloo. Sluys asserts that playing for the University of Waterloo has been a great experience. In her first year, she was recognized as an Academic All Canadian as well as the OUA Rookie of the Year for hockey. The team is cur- rently in second place in the OUA with six games left in the season. Sluys explains, "This is putting us in a great position for playoffs and to finish the strong- est our program ever has. It is certainly a personal and team goal to win the OUA and move on to Nationals" Elliott is certainly aware of rirl Pi ilk I. i Fast/ so •'ft • 6,1 PIP Submitted Photo Jory Elliott (left) and Stephanie Sluys (right) both grew up in the local hockey leagues and are now connected through the Warrior women's team at the University of Waterloo. Elliott is coaching Sluys as a goalie. Sluys' talent. He acknowledges, "She played for the Durham West Jr. Lightning in the Provin- cial Women's Hockey League (PWHL), which is Ontario's most elite female hockey develop- ment league, before committing to University of Waterloo." He goes on to describe her accom- plishments this season with the Warriors. "She is currently on pace to eclipse her marks in Save Percentage and Goals Against Average from last season with great consistency leading that charge. She is part of a goaltend- ing tandem with fifth year goal - tender Rebecca Bouwhuis from Barrie. Together they have held the team in a top five standing in the CIS, which has 33 teams in total from coast to coast, in both Save Percentage and Goals Against Average:' The OUA con- ference is under CIS which is Canada's university sports sanc- tioning body. The appreciation also is felt from player to coach. Sluys states, "This year Jory has been a great addition to the coaching staff, specifically working with me and the other goalies on the team both on and off the ice. Jory has allowed my game to become more technical by working through video of games and seeing my mistakes and the corrections I can make:' Although they grew up in the same area, Elliott and Sluys did not know each other before join- ing the Waterloo Warriors. Elliott admits that he did not even real- ize that Sluys was from Clinton until he saw it written on the team roster. For her part, Sluys voiced her take on the current connection. "It's pretty neat, though, that two Clintonians have both ended up at the Unversity of Waterloo and are striving to help the Warrior's Women's hockey team achieve their first OUA and better yet CIS Championship!" Elliott mused that they have both travelled very different paths to get to the same place at the same time. He is thrilled to have the opportunity to share this stellar season with someone who grew up in his home area, even if it was at dif- ferent times. He believes that is a very strong indication of the quality of the local minor hockey programs.