It may be her first season as the Concordia Stingers’ goaltender, but Katherine Purchase has already accomplished a great deal.
With two weeks left in the regular season, Purchase is leading the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) with the top save percentage at .959 and with the best goals-against average at 1.10.
“It’s kind of surreal,” admits Purchase who turned 18 last summer. “I definitely didn’t expect for this to happen. Before I came I was just hoping to start maybe one game this year. So for me to have playing time has already exceeded my expectations. The success I’ve had is kind of unexpected. I think I kind of surprised myself.”
Purchase started playing hockey at the age of nine and was originally a forward. It was only at the age of 12 that she made the switch. She tried playing goalie for her team once and really enjoyed.
According to Stingers head coach Les Lawton, Purchase is very organized and works hard both on and off the ice. He says she knows what her weaknesses are and she works on them with the team goaltending coach.
“She brings some stability to the goaltending,” Lawton said. “She’s a young kid with lots of upside. The players are confident skating in front of her. Even though she’s in her first year, we’re really happy with her progress and she’s way ahead of where we thought she would be.”
Purchase’s success doesn’t stop on the ice; the young Halifax native is also excelling academically at Concordia. After her first semester in Accounting she has a perfect 4.3 GPA.
Purchase says it’s all about balancing and time management.
“Usually I just stick to a routine in the week,” she said. “For example I have classes in the afternoon before practice everyday, so I usually go to the library in the morning.”
Even though her success is more than she could have hoped for, Purchase remains modest. However, she has ambitious goals. She would really like to head to nationals with her team at least once, if not more.
– by Shauna Zilversmit
