Kristen Cooze should be easy to find now that she’s home from wrapping up her third year with the Mount Alison Mounties women’s hockey team.
“I’m kind of enjoying my time away from my homework,” Ms. Cooze, who arrived home from Sackville Tuesday, said Wednesday from Kippens. “I’m just relaxing a little bit, but other than that I’m going to the gym. That’s pretty much about it.”
A lot of college students would probably take a deserved rest after a hectic school year, but Cooze believes she doesn’t have the luxury to become inactive when she has some unfinished business to address this summer.
Ms. Cooze, a 20-year-old defender with the Mounties in the Atlantic University Sport, will be gunning for gold as a member of Team Canada’s women’s ball hockey team when St. John’s puts out the welcome mat for the 2013 World Ball Hockey Championships June 2-9.
The first Newfoundland female ball hockey player to suit up for Team Canada, Ms. Cooze made her international debut at the 2011 world championship in Bratislava, Slovakia where the undefeated Canadians were upset 1-0 by Team Slovakia in the gold-medal showdown.
Team Canada cruised through the tournament with five-straight shutout wins, two of those victories were 15-0 blowouts, but the one goal they allowed cost them a gold medal.
“We never had a goal scored on us (in round-robin),” she said. “We had a solid team, it’s just that the last game they put one in and we didn’t. Their goalie played really well too.”
Ms. Cooze had an impressive showing in the tournament, collecting three goals and four helpers in five games, not too shabby for a player who was initially named an alternate, but an injury to a team member opened the door for her to earn a roster spot.
“I went in kind of thinking I might play a game or two, but I ended up playing the whole thing,” she said.
Better prepared
Heading into this year’s event, Ms. Cooze believes she’s better prepared to handle the high level of play at the world level because of the run for gold two years ago.
She believes her first time around gave her the experience she feels will help her when it gets down to the more important games as the tournament progresses.
“The final game for me for the first time it was really nerve-wracking,” she said.
“I was really nervous and that kind of affected the way I played as well, but I think this time going back into it if we get that far, and I think we will, I won’t be as nervous and I will be more ready.”
Ms. Cooze will always remember wearing the Canada jersey for the first time and coming so close to gold, but she admits she’s more excited about this year’s tournament for a number of reasons.
Having a crowd on hand watching her dangle on home turf is certainly a moment she expects to give her a great rush.
“It’s pretty special to play in something so big in your home province,” she said. “Basically, everyone you know will be there and not too many people get a chance to say they did that.”
Ms. Cooze steps back into the international spotlight for her second shot at a world title and she believes Team Canada can make it happen in St. John’s, but she has embraced the idea of having two of her friends join her for the journey.
Amanda Kean of St. Anthony and Dawn Tulk of Deer Lake will make their debut with Team Canada, and that’s the icing on the cake for Ms. Cooze.
“Last time I went I never had anyone come with me,” she said. It was still a special tournament and still important, but this will just make it more special and important.
“Having them alongside me is more energy with more people coming to watch,” she said.
She plans on working hard for the next few months and, even though the offensive punch was impressive last year, she would like to increase her scoring punch this time around and lists it as one of her goals.
“The last time I played really well defensively and worked hard, but this year I want to contribute more offensively if I can,” she said.
