By Cale Loney |
Lisa Haley, former women’s hockey coach, will enter the SMU Sport Hall of Fame in the builder category. Haley arrived at Saint Mary’s in 1996 and in 1997–98 became the first coach of the women’s hockey varsity program. It was that season the conference held their first ever championship tournament hosted by UNB. Fittingly, the Huskies won that very first conference title in double overtime over Acadia.
Haley went on to coach the Huskies for 14 seasons, earning four league titles, two conference Coach of the Year awards and one national coaching award before leaving the program to take on the head coaching duties at Ryerson University. Lisa has been in a hockey head coaching role for 20 years at both national and international levels.
In the athlete category, defensive lineman Noah Cantor was a member of the Huskies from 1990 to 1994. He was a four-time conference All-Star, two-time conference Lineman of the Year, and a three-time CIS All-Canadian. In his five seasons, Noah was part of the powerful Huskies team that earned four conference titles, two Atlantic Bowl titles, and competed in two Vanier Cups. After leaving SMU, he had an all-star career in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts and the BC Lions from 1995 to 2006, winning four Grey Cup Championships.
The 2001–2002 men’s hockey team round out the inductions. After Bob Boucher’s departure, the Huskies’ teams struggled for consistency and success. Under head coach Trevor Stienburg, the 2001–2002 Huskies captured their first conference title, ending a 25-year drought and re-establishing Saint Mary’s as a major threat in the AUS and CIS. In one of the most exciting and memorable conference playoff series to date, the Huskies defeated the Dalhousie Tigers in a five-game series in double OT. The 2001–2002 team featured an impressive array of hockey talent that blended seamlessly and re-launched Saint Mary’s hockey.
The 2019 induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 5th at the Homburg Centre.
