Huskies’ Sophie Lalor plays for family out west

“It’s special for them to come to the games, but also be close to their home so it’s not like they have to come all the way across (to Saskatoon) just to see,” said Lalor, who earned an assist Saturday to help the Huskies beat the Spartans 2-0.

The 21-year-old grew up and played minor hockey in St. Albert, Alberta, about a half-hour drive northwest of Edmonton. As she began to excel in the sport, her family decided to move to Penticton for Lalor to attend the Okanagan Hockey Academy.

“We were skating every single day, multiple times a day if you wanted to, and skill sessions, off-ice skill sessions, off-ice shooting, skill work, power skating,” she said.

Lalor attended the academy for grades 11 and 12, getting opportunities to play in tournaments across Canada and the United States. She credits the program for her strengths as a playmaker with offensive vision on the ice.

“We were playing like five games in three days, so it was crazy,” she said. “It was that kind of step up that I wanted. And to have that through high school, I think it made the transition to university a lot easier.

LISTEN: Sophie Lalor talks family and finding her hockey family with the Huskies.

Family support, on and off the ice, is what grounds the third-year forward. It’s also what drew her to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey program.

“The biggest thing for me was the people. Just everyone that I met, I came here and it felt like a family,” she said. “Everyone’s so supportive. And for us, it makes us girls who normally aren’t treated like that, it makes us feel like pros.”

That support extends to mental and emotional wellbeing, tools Lalor said she and other players lean on to juggle the pressures of school, playing and everything that happened during the COVID-19 gap year.

During the U Sports season that wasn’t, Lalor returned home to Penticton where she was also able to access ice time and training support at the academy as an alumni.

“I have my trainers back in Penticton that I worked with, and lots of on-ice people there,” she said. “But staying in touch with the girls, thank God for text message and FaceTime, because it was hard being away from them and I felt really bad about leaving.”

Sophie Lalor (left) and Huskies women’s hockey captain, Bailee Bourassa, pose with Lalor’s pup Toby outside the Langley Events Centre on Nov. 5, 2021. (Daniella Ponticelli/HuskieFAN)

Lalor is in her fourth year of a business degree at the University of Saskatchewan, and in her third year of athletics eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“School is kind of up in the air for me right now. I’m almost done my degree and because of COVID we get that extra year of eligibility,” she said. “Do I do my masters? Do I take some kind of diploma? So I’m trying to figure that out right now as to what I’m going to do.”

There’s also another avenue for Lalor: playing overseas.

“If everything went according to my plan, I would hope to go and play professionally in Europe because I do have my European citizenship,” said Lalor, whose mother is from England.

While all that will eventually be determined, Lalor is staying focused on the present and making the most of her time with the Huskies during a shortened season.

“Our coaches have been really good, helping us look at the bigger picture and be like, ‘We still have a lot of season left’,” she said.

“It’s a learning curve for us this year. We have a lot of young girls, but I think that we’re going to kind of pull it together. I know we’re going to.”

by HuskieFAN Staff

Huskies’ Sophie Lalor plays for family out west

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