– all incredible achievements
for such a late-bloomer.
“I guess I started skating
a bit before I turned nine,
but I was definitely nine
years old when I got into the
loop of competitive hockey,”
Anderson reflected. “I owe a
lot of credit to my dad and
brother. I asked my parents
if I could give hockey a go,
and just like that my dad
made a rink in our backyard.
We had a tiny little backyard
a good attitude. We try
to keep things light, and
there is always laughter. We
make sure to stay relaxed by
goofing around a little bit,
and we are always loud on the
bench… I feel like that gives
us a good advantage. We are
always the loudest bench.”
Winning makes everything
easier and for Anderson there
has been a lot of winning in
this 2017-18 hockey season.
“It was absolutely unreal
strangers to the playoffs, as
U of M has made it to the
Canada West finals in two
of the last three seasons.
Making it to the finals is one
thing, but succeeding and
moving on to the U Sports
championship is another.
“I think things are just
finally coming together and
clicking really well,” Anderson
said. “This year – for the first
time – I feel like it’s never
one of those issues where
we find ourselves in games
where we just can’t score. We
are able to get points every
game, and I think the last
couple years we had really
been searching and looking to
find our identity, but we have
really found that this year.”
Not only have the Bisons
found their identity, but many
players have also found new
experiences and opportunities
because of their high-level
“
WE ARE
ALWAYS THE
LOUDEST
BENCH
”
and the rink took up every
inch of it. My older brother
and I had a good competitive
relationship; we would
skate out there every day.”
Fast-forward 12 years,
and Anderson continues
to skate every day – albeit
as a university athlete.
“Being a part of this
Bisons team is an amazing
experience,” Anderson said.
“It’s a great group of girls,
and everyone always has
when we first got into top spot
nationally,” the defenseman
said. “We try not to focus
too much on it, but it was
certainly a big accomplishment
and we are really proud of
that. We know what we need
to do to keep this going. I
don’t think we want or need
to really change anything we
are doing right now. We just
need to keep doing what we’re
doing to see more success.”
It’s not like the Bisons are
1 3 0 | G AME ON | PL AYOFF ED ITION 2018
play – Anderson included.
“I actually was invited to
skate in the Canada Summer
Showcase Camp this summer,”
Anderson said. “It was really
fun, and I learned a lot. Those
days were jam-packed. I really
enjoyed the nice mix of girls
there. You might think that
there may be some tension
with rivalries between teams,
but no, everyone was just
super nice. It was great, and
we all had each other’s backs.
We’re all Canadian after-all.”
In a rather bizarre set of
circumstances, the 1996-born
defender nearly missed the
invitation to camp. But as
she likes to say, “everything
ended up all-right.”
“I was actually out of
cellphone range, tree-planting
for a few months this past
summer,” Anderson said. “The
day I returned from planting
112,000 trees I got back into
the city and got the email
request from Coach Jon. If I’d
have been gone just a day or
two longer, I wouldn’t have
been able to attend. He needed
to know my availability almost
immediately. I came that close
to missing it. Amazing.”
With Canada West playoffs
and the U Sport championships
on tap, the Bisons have
battened down the hatches
for a long playoff run. Even
though losing skilled, offensive-
minded forward, Venla Hovi
to Team Finland for the
Olympics, Anderson and her
teammates know exactly what
it will take to finish such a
successful season the right way.
“We are all just super stoked
that Hovs is at the Olympics,
and we have all been cheering
her on,” Anderson said. “We
just all need to work harder in
her absence, and not change
much. We each have our roles
on the ice, and obviously it
would be amazing to still have
Hovs here playing with us. But
that’s one of the nice things
about team sports. People are
injured or away all the time
for whatever reason, and as
easy as it may be, we can never
just rely on one person. We
are all stepping up and giving
that extra push. It’s a hard
working team,