Midway through the NCAA women’s hockey season, Shawnigan Lake resident and Frances Kelsey Secondary graduate Cierra Paisley is leading her team, the Div. I Lindenwood Lady Lions, in points.
A freshman at the St. Charles, Missouri school, Paisley missed the first two games of the season — against defending national champions Minnesota State — when her move was delayed, but has since surged to the top of the team scoring list with nine points (two goals and seven assists) through 16 games.
Paisley had initially planned to play this year with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in U Sports (formerly known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport), but decided to go with the more competitive NCAA Div. I level.
Paisley played AAA major midget female hockey with the Vancouver Comets last season, and skated for Team BC at the Canadian Championships in Huntsville, Ont. last fall. Among her teammates at Lindenwood is goalie Morgan Skinner of Victoria, who was also a teammate on Team BC in 2015.
This is the second year of NCAA Div. I hockey for the Lady Lions, and Paisley is enjoying being part of the building program.
“It’s a great place to start, ground floor, plenty of ice time,” she said. “Being able to start on the powerplay and take the majority of the faceoffs is not something I thought I would be doing in my freshman year. The other girls are great and accepted us newbies as if we were longtime friends. It’s a lot of work both mentally and physically but I’m having an awesome time.”
The Lindenwood Lady Lions currently sit fifth in the six-team CHA Women’s Hockey Conference, but Paisley is hoping to help the team surge in the standings after Christmas, with the goal of qualifying for the Frozen Four national championships, which are being hosted by Lindenwood in St. Charles.
“It would be awesome to qualify for the Frozen Four in our own, or my new home town,” Paisley said.