Maxine Baronette, a recent graduate of the Sudbury Lady Wolves hockey program, will be joining former Lady Wolves Jamie Tessier and Manon Davis when the Sturgeon Falls-native laces up her skates with the Windsor Lancers this September.
“I'll have somebody to show me around so I don't get lost,” Baronette jokes. “It'll ease up the tension a little bit.”
After a year away from school, the 19-year-old centre and Ecole secondaire Franco-Cité graduate decided to venture away from her small town roots to join the University of Windsor team. For the first time, she'll be far from parents Monique Ménard and Don Baronette as well as the rest of her family.
“I'm extremely nervous,” Baronette admits. “But it's what I've been waiting for my whole life.”
University hockey programs pursued her after grade 12, but Baronette says she wasn't quite ready to leave home last summer. After a successful season in Sudbury this year - including three tournament wins and a semi-final berth at a provincial championship -- Baronette, known for her scoring touch in the offensive zone, began taking emails and phone calls from interested teams again, finally landing on the Lancers.
A visit there this summer cemented her decision when she was impressed with the University's facilities, many of which are getting upgraded for this season.
“The whole school's getting rebuilt,” Baronette explains. “It was my first time in Windsor and I think it's gorgeous. I went to (the University's) welcome week and got to mingle with the students. I met a couple hockey players and they were all really friendly, they made me feel at home.”
Baronette's field of choice is environmental studies, which she'll be learning when she's not striving to accomplish her athletic goals on the ice.
“It's a department that's really in demand right now,” she explains. “I want to do well in school too.”
Her competitive hockey career began with the North Bay Ice Bolts, although she played in leagues with boys until she was 15.
Baronette joined the Lady Wolves during her last year of Bantam hockey and followed through to intermediate 'A', a team that plays in a Midget boys house league where Baronette racked up “between 20 and 30 goals” in her final season there, although the team doesn't keep statistics.
Sudbury Lady Wolves assistant coach Chris Zinn describes Baronette as a “real card” who “keeps things light in the dressing room.” But he also lauds her offensive talents over the last three years, especially in front of the net.
“She sees the ice really well,” he says. “She's just a really good offensive player who can score goals like crazy. Max was always the go-to girl on the team for the years that we had her.”
Although she might need to work on the defensive side of her game to become a complete two-way player, Zinn is confident the Lancers will enjoy the talent and personality she'll bring to their team.
“Continuous work in her own end will make her a complete player,” he states. “She'll be nothing but a benefit to the Windsor team, she's a real good kid.”
Baronette says she would like to stay at her natural position when she hits the ice for the Lancers this season, starting with an exhibition game against Boston College in September after training camp, but she adds she is open to a move to the wing. Either way, Baronette will be looking forward to continuing her career in a sport that she loves.
“It gets my mind off everything, nothing else really matters when you play hockey,” she says. “It keeps me going, keeps me in shape, builds teamwork and builds character.”
“I could do really well and get noticed with the University, that's what I'll strive for. (But) if I don't get it,… I'm just going to do my best and see where it takes me.”
Courtesy of The Sturgeon Falls Tribune
