GLOBEnet Welcome to the News Section Universities Core of women's hockey is U of T Friday, December 12, 1997 By Shawna Richer THE University of Toronto has quietly established itself as a hockey dynasty. Five former members of the Varsity Blues are among the 20 players selected to the Canadian women's hockey team competing at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, making U of T Canada's equivalent to Providence College or the University of New Hampshire, the schools that feed Team USA. Forwards Lori Dupuis, Jayna Hefford, Laura Schuler and Vicky Sunohara, and goaltender Lesley Reddon are all former Blues who were named to Team Canada earlier this week. It confirms what many have known for a long time but few ever speak about: that Canadian university hockey can pay off handsomely for the women who play it. If you consider their individual greatness, it is not surprising that the Varsity Blues will be well-represented in red and white at the Olympics. Dupuis, the Blues captain the past three seasons and a player for six, was a league all-star five times and is the Ontario University Athletics career scoring leader. She played on the wing with Angela James and Hayley Wickenheiser as part of the national team's best line at the world championship last April. Hefford was the Ontario league rookie of the year last season, accumulating 34 points in 12 games. Schuler and Sunohara were both all-star forwards, and Sunohara was the league's rookie of the year in 1990. Reddon was an Ontario all-star goaltender in each of her four seasons. Intercollegiate hockey was born at the U of T in 1922, when McGill University challenged the Varsity Blues to a game, although colleges at the university had been playing among themselves since the turn of the century. It was a time when women who played hockey skated in wool skirts. But they weren't beyond using wacky methods to find an edge. According to Brian McFarlane's book Proud Past, Bright Future: One Hundred Years of Canadian Women's Hockey , some goaltenders went so far as to sew handfuls of buckshot into the hem of their ankle-length skirts to help block shots. The Toronto women's program operates at a constant level of success, largely unmatched in the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union. Toronto has won 14 Ontario championships since 1971-72 and holds a pile of league records. Former Blues player Andria Hunter (1991-96) leads the career scoring list with 60 goals and 123 points, and the Blues have 11 players in the top 18. Five Blues are among the top 10 career goal scorers; seven are in the career assists top 10. Former players Heather Ginzel (1983-84) holds the record for most points in a season with 55, followed by Hunter (1995-96) with 53. Olympic team member Dupuis is third in most career points with 51 goals and 112 points. But there has not always been clean, clear ice beneath the Varsity Blues women's hockey program. The school considered closing it in 1992 during a funding crunch that threatened several varsity teams. A fund-raising effort saved the team, and the Blues went on to win the Ontario title. For the first time, they will have an opportunity to play for a national championship this year. The Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union recently sanctioned the hockey championship in an effort to equalize the number of national titles for men and women. Karen Hughes, Varsity Blues coach for five years, probably will find herself there if the team keeps playing as they have. Toronto is currently in second spot in Ontario, with a 5-0-1 record behind a strong University of Guelph Gryphons squad. The national championship is scheduled Feb. 26 to March 1 at Concordia University. And it looks like Team Canada will not have the only University of Toronto alumnae on the ice at the Olympics. Laurie Taylor-Bolton, also a former Blues hockey player, will work at Nagano as a referee. Shawna Richer can be reached via E-Mail: sricher@GlobeAndMail.ca -------------------------- Copyright (c) 1997, The Globe and Mail Company. All rights reserved.