Halldorson finds peace in crease

There was never any doubt in Rachel Halldorson’s mind she was meant to be on the ice.

The Lundar product entering her second year with the Assiniboine College Cougars of the American Collegiate Hockey Association as the club’s starting netminder simply had the love of the game instilled in her, with her dad and brother having played hockey and her mother ringette. So, it always was a matter of when, not if.

“We have a very big hockey-oriented family. Mostly everybody in my family has always played hockey and kind of stuck to hockey, so it’s always just been in our family,” said Halldorson, who recorded a shutout en route to a 5-0 Cougars win in their season opener against the Jamestown Jimmies at Brandon’s Community Sportsplex over the weekend. “I started hockey when I was really young, and my parents were definitely the biggest reason why … they were very big supporters of me, and they still are, and that’s what keeps pushing me to keep playing.”

Not only was Halldorson sold on playing hockey at a young age, but she also knew she wanted to be right in between the pipes, which many goaltenders don’t find out until being a forward or defenceman first. But for Halldorson, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I just always wanted to play goalie right from the get-go,” she said. “My cousin was actually my coach for, I believe, U7, and she would always tell me a story that I would just sit on the bench until it was my turn to go goalie.”

Halldorson said she would pout until she finally got a chance to play in the blue paint, and if she wasn’t happy with the number of shifts she got, she would even try to take some of her teammates’ turns. From that point onward, her competitive nature in the net would only grow.

She spent around six years in the Interlake Lightning minor hockey league system and was awarded the “most dedicated player” in 2020 on her U15AAA squad and then again in 2022 on her U18AAA club. Her competitiveness and drive to constantly get better also helped her receive the MVP title on her Lightning club in 2023 and caught eyes from a provincial standpoint as well, as Halldorson cracked Hockey Manitoba’s U18 Program of Excellence group and had the privilege of attending the Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island.

It’s an experience she said she will never forget.

“The environment of going and going for the first time, like, it was just amazing,” Halldorson said. “The atmosphere was just beautiful, it was very energetic, and everyone was just so positive.”

Although she and Team Toba failed to come out on top after finishing with an overall record of 2-4, she was able to take that once-in-a-lifetime experience over with her to the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships a few months later, when she was named to Manitoba’s lineup and helped her team to a second-place finish after losing to Ontario in the final.

The loss certainly stung, and still does a bit to this day, but regardless, win or lose, it’s the connections she cherishes the most.

“That team was a family,” she said. “I really, really enjoyed working with them and playing with them. The coaches were absolutely amazing, I still even talk to them to this day and am still in contact with a few of the girls that I played with as well. I was just very fortunate to be able to travel with Team Manitoba and Team Manitoba Aboriginal for some amazing opportunities.

“I think that’s really another big motivator that really pushed me to keep going to play hockey and honestly, just keep doing the best I can. I’ve learned so much from both experiences, and I try to bring that with me to every other team I play for and honestly, anything in life.”

She said those lessons are ingrained in playing for the logo on the front of the jersey, which represents the family you play for, instead of the name on the back. Halldorson describes herself as having more of a shy, down-to-earth personality, but nonetheless, she believes everyone can lead, and that’s the culture she has brought with her to the Cougars locker room.

“No matter what age you are or what year you are on the team, you’re always a leader, no matter what,” said Halldorson. “If you have a letter, if you don’t have a letter, I think everybody on the team is a leader in their own way, so bringing that forward and making sure the girls realize that it doesn’t matter what number or letter you have on your jersey, you’re still a leader and still a big part of the group no matter what.”

Establishing that environment has arguably never been important for Assiniboine, which now have 12 rookies in the fold after returning only six players: Kasey Fouillard, Madison Haliuk, Kylee Emms-Finnsson, Brooklyn Driedger, Alexis Campbell and Halldorson.

The first-year players will be expected to fill some big shoes, as the Cougars are hoping to best their 22-2-2 record set last season and reach the ACHA Division 2 nationals for a third straight year — except this time, end up on the right side of the coin after losing to the Sault College Cougars on both occasions. Halldorson, who registered a 1.06 goals against average and a .963 save percentage in 14 appearances last season — earning herself an ACHA Division 2 first team all-star nomination — believes her club has the tools to get it done.

“I think we are all in it and ready to go,” she said. “We are one big family, even though we’ve been together for only a couple months now, and we’re all very determined and all want to go to nationals and kick some Cougar butt. And honestly, I think it’s our time to get the Nationals title back.

“I feel like the longer our teams are together, the more chemistry we’re going to keep building, and we’ll be ready to go to fight for nationals again and get that first place.”

Although ACC has come up short both times, Halldorson believes having that experience is crucial for the core group of players, who learned the foot can never come off the gas pedal, even when energy may be at a low.

The Cougars are hoping to gear up for that championship run game-by-game under first-year head coach Charles Tweed, who was previously an assistant coach for the club. The club certainly got off to a hot start to the season this weekend after they swept their two-game home set against the Jamestown Jimmies with a 5-0 win on Saturday and then a 1-0 victory on Sunday.

“It’s really great starting off the year with two wins, like, especially with it being our very first games,” said Halldorson. “It was great to see that everyone bonded well and was able to work together and honestly go out there and do the best they could and come up with two wins overall.”

Halldorson made 22 saves en route to her shutout performance for the Cougars, who have yet to allow a goal. She’s encouraged to start the year on a great individual note but knows that no longer matters — she’s just focused on the next game.

Halldorson and ACC will next be in action on the road in North Dakota for another set against the Jimmies this weekend.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com