The Hayward Lady Canes hockey team features a new coach and returns some top players from last year, along with several new players as they prepare to open their hockey season this Friday and Saturday in the St. Croix Valley Fusion Tournament at the Baldwin United Civic Center.

The Lady Canes are a co-op team that includes players from Hayward, Spooner, Shell Lake, Northwestern, Ashland and, added this year, Rice Lake.

The new coach, Tom Doig, retired to the Hayward area after a long career in education and coaching high school hockey in Minnesota. He also was an assistant men’s hockey coach at UW-Eau Claire.

“I’ve always had an interest in hockey,” he said. “I wanted to get back into it. It would give me something to do in retirement and (an opportunity) to give back to the community.”

Last year’s Lady Canes hockey team finished with an 18-7 record, including a loss to St. Croix Valley in the sectional final.

Returning players from that team include sophomore goaltender Lauren Tremblay, who last year complied a 14-6 won-lost record with a 2.38 goals-against average and a 91.4 percent save ratio. Tremblay earned an honorable mention on last year’s All-State team.

Also returning are the leading scorers, sophomore Amber Heidenreich and junior Harley Kinney, each of whom had 33 points. The next leading scorers were Alex Grubbs and Maddy Spangenberg, along with Cheyenne Turnbull (now graduated).

Other returnees include senior defenseman Claudia Duffy and senior forwards Hannah Jahnke, Emma Dieckman, Madeline Spangenberg, Anna Jorgensen, Nadya VanVonderen and Dakota Disher; junior defensemen Alex Grubbs, Karin Knapp and Kelsy Schultz. Senior Britt Meyers is a new senior defenseman.

“This year we picked up three players from Rice Lake and a transfer from Siren, Jenna Curtis,” Doig said. Curtis was one of last year’s top scorers for the WSFLG Blizzard (Webster, Siren, Frederick, Luck, Grantsburg).

The younger players on the team include sophomores Anna St. Catherine, Kaelin Laub and Autumn Fenske, and freshmen Carly Somerville, Sarah Pearson, Sam Stegmann and Kenzie Strohm.

“Things are looking good so far,” Doig said. “The girls have been working hard. They’re doing a nice job. All I ask is that they work hard and good things will happen.

“We have a little more depth this year,” Doig said. “I think we will be able to play a third line. That will be helpful, also.”

On defense, the Canes will rely on strong goaltending and their three top defensive players — Duffy, Grubbs and Knapp, Doig said.

The Lady Canes will open the St. Croix Valley Fusion Tournament with a game against the WSFLG Blizzard at 11:45 a.m. this Friday. At 7 p.m. they will face the Sun Prairie Cougars.

Then on Saturday at 11 a.m., they will play the Fusion, the team that defeated the Canes in the sectional final last year.

Kate Sherry and Charles Tremblay are assistant coaches for the Canes.