Seven women’s hockey players close their chapter with Dal

Dalhousie University’s women’s hockey team played its final game at the Halifax Forum on Feb. 7, hosting a final senior players’ night before moving into their new home rink on campus.

The Tigers lost 3-0 to the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues, who had already clinched a playoff spot. The loss left Dal outside of the Atlantic University Sport playoff picture for the first time in six years.

For Emma Penner, a fifth-year kinesiology student, the Feb. 7 game marked her last with the Tigers, as she prepares to graduate. 

“I feel like everyone says this, but it truly does go by so fast,” Penner said.

Penner played 101 games over five seasons with Dalhousie, serving as team captain in her final year. Penner dealt with multiple injuries over her AUS career, including a shoulder injury that sidelined her at the end of her fourth season.

“You learn so much about yourself,” she said. “I like to pride myself in knowing that I’m a resilient person, which I think that whole experience has taught me.”

As she closes out her Tigers career, Penner is confident that the young players will carry strong leadership into the future.

“They definitely know what they’re doing,” Penner said. “I’m very confident leaving this program in their hands.”

Another notable leader leaving the program is goaltender Grace Beer. She earned conference MVP for the Tigers in 2025, allowing an average of 1.83 goals in the 21 games she played. Leading point getter Leah MacSween and Natasha Falk are also graduating.

New leadership

Hannah Robertson, a second-year kinesiology student, served as a captain in her third year at the U18 level and hopes to become a leader next season for the Tigers. 

“I always want to be a leader on and off the ice,” Robertson said.

Robertson said the team stayed resilient this season, even when injuries came their way. 

“We’re pretty good at it considering it happens a lot, unfortunately,” she said. “But we’ve come over a lot of challenges.”

Robertson said Penner played a key role in building the team’s resilience.

“She keeps pushing and going even though she keeps getting knocked down,” Robertson said.

Now that the Tigers have moved into the Oulton-Stanish Centre on Dalhousie’s Studley Campus, Robertson said the new arena will bring more fans and energy to the team.

“We’re not going to be wasting time going back and forth from the ice,” she said.

Keifer House, Dalhousie Tigers’ women’s hockey head coach, said the players he coached this season were an “easy and highly motivated group.”

After missing the postseason by six points, House said the top leaders handled the adversity positively and looked ahead. 

“They handled it with class and conducted themselves the right way, which wasn’t a surprise.” 

Looking ahead, he said the team is optimistic for next season.

“We’re going through our year-end meetings now, and everybody is very positive and upbeat about what the future holds for us,” he said.