Notre Dame looks to get back on top, With New leadership in hockey program

Athol Murray College of Notre Dame is best known for its Hounds and its hockey.

Located just south of Regina, Notre Dame has a storied hockey history boasting strong, competitive teams on the ice particularly in the U18 AAA male and female leagues.   

The pandemic of 2020 and negative media attention on the school, and by extension the hockey program, seem to have made recruiting higher caliber players more difficult. The emergence of hockey academies across Canada has also had a major impact on the Hounds hockey program.  

In his first year as hockey director, Wade Klippenstein, formerly a scout for the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, says the hockey landscape is very competitive.

“Today’s student-athlete has a tremendous number of opportunities, and there has never been a better time to be a player,” he says.  

The U18 AAA male and female teams have a combined seven national titles since 1980, with both teams most recently competing at their respective national championships in 2022. The male AAA team last made the playoffs in 2023. That same season, the female AAA squad was provincial finalists. 

Klippenstein understands the ups and downs of the sport and hopes to bring Hounds hockey out of its current slump in all the minor hockey leagues they currently compete in. 

“Many hockey programs will see periods of successes and challenges. Notre Dame continues to be a top program for student athletes. Adapting to new market challenges will be a key to getting the Hounds back to the top of the mountain,” he said.

Sarah Hodges, the new Hounds female hockey coordinator, echoes Klippenstein’s views on the program.  

Hodges says there is less pressure for immediate success and more on rebuilding the female programs back to the level it needs to be at.

“There is a pretty quick turnaround in U18 hockey with players graduating and moving on,” she says, noting this season the teams have some solid veterans and some who have never played this level before.  

An alum of Notre Dame, Hodges is coming off a 26-year head coaching stint with the URegina Cougars female team and is excited to bring more depth into the Hounds program.  

“We plan to start a U15AA team next year. We will work players through the program and into both of our U18 programs to make them all perennial competitors,” she says.  

A current student Grade 11, Ryder Gilroy, who plays on the male U18 AAA team describes Notre Dame as being more than just the hockey.

“Being at Notre Dame is like no other school in the world. We have such a privilege to have so many athletic and academic opportunities available to us.” Gilroy said. 

Kamloops Blazer, Sam Borschowa, a member of the Hounds Class of 2023 describes his favorite memories of his time at Notre Dame.

“It was all the fun times in the dorms, winning provincials and westerns in Grade 11 and the lifelong friendships I’ve made,” he says.  

Despite the recent struggles to get to the top of the standings, the Hounds hockey program has sent a number of successful players out into the hockey world. There are Hounds in the NHL, AHL, as well as both major junior and junior hockey leagues across Canada and the U.S.