S
t. Mary’s Flames head coach Larry Bumstead called the 2016-17 Prep hock-
ey season, “Very, very good.”
After all, Bumstead’s Flames were finally admitted to a league, played in
five major tournaments, won bronze at the World Female Sports Schools Challenge
and graduated four players to the next level of competition and education – Karlee
Mazor to UBC, Hailey Cloutier to Windsor, Holly Reuther to Calgary and K.K. Thies-
sen to Mercyhurst.
“I think it was a great year because for the first time, we were in a league,” said
Bumstead. “The competition was fierce. Every game was close and we were just one
goal away from going to the finals.
“But we also played in five great tournaments – Stoney Creek, Notre Dame, Mor-
den, Detroit and our own World Sports Schools Challenge. So overall, I was very
happy with our season.”
The St. Mary’s Prep Program is just six years old, but hockey has been played on
the campus of Winnipeg’s highly-regarded Catholic girls school since at least 1912.
However, the most important aspect of the St. Mary’s program is the level of sup-
port it gets from the faculty and staff at the school. The Prep Hockey team has be-
come an integral part of an already extensive extra-curricular culture at St. Mary’s.
“I asked our archivist Sister Mary Gorman a couple of weeks ago, how long hockey
goes back here at St. Mary’s,” said President Connie Yunyk. “She told me that in
1912, there was an entry into one of the journals of a student saying, ‘Winter is
here, get out your hockey sticks.’ In 1912, St. Mary’s Academy was playing hockey.
That continued into the 30s and 40s and so on, so our female students have been
involved with hockey for a very long time.
“Of course, we have amazing depth to our athletic program that anchors our ex-
tra-curricular program here at the school. Athletics plays a huge part in creating the
balanced student – spirit, mind and body.”
Yunyk should know. She’s a Super Sixer. She entered St. Mary’s in Grade 7 and
spent six years at the school before graduating in 1977. She’s a graduate from both
the University of Winnipeg and Manitoba. She returned as a teacher in the French
Department, then spent three years as a vice-principal, nine as principal before be-
coming President.
SENIOR KARLEE MAZOR
PRESIDENT CONNIE YUNYK
AT ST. MARY’S ACADEMY
When I was a
student here at the school
way back in the 70s, I was
part of the Athletic
Council and we had all
sorts of different sports,
but our high school hockey
team started 18 years ago
and we still have a high
school hockey team
2017 CHAMPIONS EDITION
GAME ON 117