Eva DeBaie Celebrates Eagles successes
A Pronghorns rookie turned one of the leading scorers for the red hot Lethbridge Eagles, Eva DeBaie is a recent transplant to Lethbridge who is turning heads in the women’s hockey community. Eva took some time from her busy academic schedule in the UofL nursing program to talk to Lethbridge Sports about her time with the Eagles and what brought her to now.
We started out by talking about what Eva’s transition from the USports league to the AJFHL has been like. “It’s been great actually.” She says. “We have a really great group of girls.” We asked her if there were any challenges navigating some major changeups to the Eagles lineup in the off season. “It’s a lot easier to work towards that common goal.” She says of the team. “We’re looking to win the whole thing. That’s the goal.” Despite losing her Horns roster spot very before getting to play many competitive USports games, Eva is all in on the Eagles. “It’s unfortunate the Horns hockey programs were cut. Like other former Horns I’m thankful to have a competitive league here with a great group of girls that make it fun to come to the rink.”
Eva gives her team a nod for coming together this season. “We’ve been doing a really good job of supporting each other on the bench. Our coaching staff do that really well. Our coaches help us play to our strengths. We have a strong forecheck. We’ve been working on that in practice. That wins you games. “ Eva herself is the 2nd leading scorer on the team. We asked her what’s let her find success and the back of the net. “I would attribute it to my linesmates. My line hasn’t changed all year. Kendy my center and I work really well together and we’ve been able to find the back of the net which is awesome.”
Eva grew up in Victoria. She played minor with Juan de Fuca league. Her high school team was at Shawnegin Lake school. It was a perfect mix of academics and athletics for Eva. After graduating she came to UofL to study nursing and play for the Horns. “The academics is a big part of why I chose UofL,” Eva shares, “I do want to finish my program there. I knew the Ealges existed and it was a perfect opportunity to play competitively and get my degree, which was the goal the whole time. “
Eva is excited about the rest of the season and sees the Eagles going a long way. She sees many people as having helped her reach her current level in her hockey career. “I’ve had a lot of amazing coaches. All my major midget and high school coaches. Doug Paisley and the Horns staff were inspiring. Eagles staff and great too. They know we want to be competitive and give us to the tool to do so. As our coach Kelly says, we celebrate the wins. She should get that tattooed on her forehead.”
The Eagles are playing a special memorial game in honor of former Eagle Emily Middagh this Saturday at the ATB Center at 1:30pm. Middagh lost a battle against mental health issues during the pandemic. In addition to coming out to the game (which features free admission), the club is hosting a 50/50 event to raise funds and an online silent auction hosted on Handbid. The silent auction can be found here: https://events.handbid.com/auctions/lethbridge-eagles-memorial-game-silent-auction
We hope you’ll come join us and the Eagles for the game this Saturday.