Sports

Women’s Hockey: Croussette excels despite lack of height

Quebec native grows into one of UMaine's top scorers

Posted on Oct. 29, 2009, at 1:48 a.m.

At 5 feet tall, University of Maine sophomore right wing Myriam Croussette was looked past multiple times before joining the Black Bear women’s hockey team. Each time the elusive scorer from Baie-Comeau, Quebec, made someone eat their words.

According to Montreal newspaper The Westmount Examiner, in 2007 Croussette was the last cut from Team Quebec’s roster for the Canada Games, held every four years. Later that winter, playing for Dawson College in Montreal (similar to prep school or junior college in United States), Croussette scored the Quebec CEGEP (College d’Enseignment General et Professionnel) Provincial Championship winning goal, beating a team led by the coach who cut her from Team Quebec.

After playing two seasons for Dawson and completing her CEGEP academic requirements, Croussette aspired to play Division I hockey in the United States, where the talent level of college hockey is greater than in Canada.

Only UMaine and Hockey East Conference opponent Northeastern University offered her a roster spot.

Looking to form a well-mixed first recruiting class after taking the head coaching position at UMaine, Dan Lichterman welcomed Croussette to Orono. Croussette went on to lead UMaine freshmen in scoring and finished eighth among her class in Hockey East.

“It’s one of those things in women’s hockey,” Lichterman said. “Sometimes you can get enamored by a player’s size. I think you need a mix.”

In nine games for the Black Bears this season, Croussette is already just two goals shy of the six she scored in her first year with the team. She is fourth in team scoring, behind seniors Jenna Ouellette and Taryn Peacock and junior Jennie Gallo.

Despite the satisfaction of proving her doubters wrong, Croussette credits her UMaine teammates foremost for her immediate success.

“You don’t do this just by yourself,” Croussette said. “I had good linemates last year, and I think that’s why I had the success that I had.”

Lichterman sees the first class that he did not inherit as full of potential on and off the ice.

“Just great character kids, and great kids for the stability of our locker room,” Lichterman described.

The sophomore class includes, along with Croussette — Ashley Norum, Jessica Bond, Melissa Gagnon, Dominique Goutsis, Dawn Sullivan and Candice Currier.

Gagnon was Croussette’s teammate for two seasons at Dawson, as well as previously on the Under-18 Team Quebec, which finished runner-up at the National Championships. Gagnon, whose native language is French, was glad Croussette committed to UMaine because it eased the culture adjustment.

“I committed maybe a month before Myriam, and when I knew she was coming here too, I was really happy,” Gagnon said. “She’s French too, so if I was tired of speaking English or something, I would have someone to speak to.”

Gagnon also praised Croussette’s contributions to the team.

“She’s really smart with the puck,” Gagnon said. “She has a lot of skills.”

Croussette acknowledged she is glad to see improvement since her freshman season, but feels there is still plenty of work to be done.

“I need to expect more from myself, and my teammates and my coaches are expecting more,” Croussette said. “That’s why I’ve got to give more.”

Croussette is remarkably efficient with her scoring. Her four goals this season have come in just 10 shots on goal.

“I think it’s just being in the right place at the right time,” Croussette said. “Getting the pass on the tape is also important.”

Lichterman said he would like to see Croussette utilize her shot more often.

“She’s got a great shot but didn’t really use it a whole lot last year,” Lichterman said. “A big challenge for her is to generate some more offense by shooting the puck.”

Lichterman feels Croussette has become a more complete player this year, giving more attention to improving her defense, which was not as important at the junior level. Her ability as a two-way player helped fill a hole on UMaine’s top line when top scorer Vanessa Vani graduated last year.

“She’s a kid that we do really need to step up and help carry our offensive load here this season,” Lichterman said.

Another noticeable change in Croussette is her number change from No. 27 to No. 9. Paul Kariya, another Canadian who didn’t let his size limit his achievements at UMaine, had the number retired from the men’s team, but Croussette said her decision to switch was simply that it is her favorite number, and it was not available last year.

Unfortunately for Lichterman, recruiting players from Quebec has become more difficult. After Croussette and Gagnon transferred to UMaine, the NCAA changed its eligibility rules for CEGEP schools, limiting the window in which student-athletes must complete their academic requirements in order to compete at the Division I level after transferring to a school in the United States.

“You have to do a lot more education of the process,” Lichterman said. “It’s been a challenge. It will be interesting to see what happens up here if kids just stop looking south of the border, or if some of those kids are willing to still take on the challenge to be able to play at this level.”

Croussette was glad she was able to transfer before the revised rule took effect, but feels it is unfortunate for athletes now dealing with the obstacles.

“I think more players are going to stay probably in Canada,” Croussette said. “The best level of play is here, in the U.S.”

On the international level, Canada dominates women’s hockey. Canada has won the last two Olympic gold medals in the sport, and nine overall World Championship gold medals.

Croussette would like to continue her hockey career or possibly try coaching after college. She is majoring in psychology at UMaine.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009, 1:48 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.