Purschke robbed of Team Canada opportunity
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It looked like Anna Purschke was going to end her college career with a fantastic flourish.
But, like so many other things, COVID came along and ruined it.
The Sherwood Park product and standout for Calgary’s Mount Royal University Cougars, was selected to Team Canada’s women’s hockey team for the FISU Winter Universiade in Switzerland in December.
But unfortunately the opportunity of a lifetime was cancelled by COVID.
“It was kind of upsetting,” understated Purschke. “It was a really cool opportunity. Something I have never been able to do is wear the maple leaf. Because of COVID what would have been a really cool experience never ended up happening. We didn’t get to go, but at least they still ended up giving me my Team Canada jersey, which was cool. And they paid for it to be mounted too. So I still got a memento that I will cherish. It is too bad I never got to play, but I was very lucky to be selected for that, nonetheless.”
Purschke came up through the Sherwood system, playing boys hockey until PeeWee. She joined the Sherwood Park Kings club and played for both the female Bantam Royals and Midget Fury, getting a chance to suit up for Team Alberta at the 2015 nationals in Huntsville, Ontario.
She signed on with Mount Royal and finished off her final year of eligibility with the Cougars this season, ending up with the second most number of goals in the history of the MRU women’s program.
The Cougars won their division for the first time in their history, but ended up losing out in the second round of the playoffs to the University of Saskatchewan.
“It is pretty bittersweet,” Purschke said of ending her college career. “When we finished our season in 2020 we were at nationals when things got shut down due to COVID. This was definitely our year for redemption with some unfinished business. And although we didn’t do that, I thought we made a whole bunch of strides in the right direction, We finished first in the regular season, which is something no other MRU women’s hockey team had been able to do, so there were a bunch of positives. I am really happy I came back for a sixth year to finish off my career there, to play my fifth year of eligibility.”
A winger for most of her career, the Park product was tasked with playing centre this season.
“It was kind of cool,” she said. “It was a different opportunity that will hopefully help me in my career, wherever I end up going. It makes me more versatile. It is always good to try something different and learn something new.”
The Sherwood shooter is glad she opted to go to Calgary for college.
“Being at Mount Royal has been an amazing experience and I am so happy that I chose to go there,” she said. “I am happy with where the team has gone and excited to see where they go in the future. I am so glad I was able to finish this part of my career at MRU.”
Purschke hopes her overall hockey career is not finished yet, however.
“It is a little bit different than men’s hockey, but there are some opportunities for women, which is great,” she noted. “There is a league in Sweden called the SDHL which is where I am hoping to go. There are a couple of other leagues in Germany and Eastern Europe. I know a couple of other North Americans who have played in the Swedish league and have loved their experiences. They have a couple of teams who have taken a lot of Canadians who have come out of college here, so hopefully I can make my name out there, for sure.”
Park product wins major college award for volunteerism
In addition to making Team Canada, even if she didn’t get to play for them, Purschke won a major award this year, capturing the Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service award for the second time, having also won it in 2018 for her work volunteering for a number of causes, including Special Olympics Snowshoeing and the superHEROS program designed to give players with cognitive and physical challenges a place to play.
“Anna epitomizes what being a student athlete is all about. She is a tremendous student, athlete and human,” said MRU Cougars head coach Scott Rivett. “She is a true role model not only for our team, but all of Cougar Athletics and Recreation. She believes in giving back to the community in any way she can and demonstrates this by the variety of initiatives that she takes on. I have never been around anyone as selfless as Anna and we were fortunate enough to have her in our program for six years. We are all better people because of it.”
“It is very special,” Purschke said of winning the volunteer award. “One thing I have learned during my time at MRU is that I have a huge passion for volunteering, something I learned from the girls above me. The fact that I was able to do all that volunteering while I was here is something I will always cherish and be thankful for and I have made such great connections through it. You don’t do stuff like that for awards, but when you get some recognition for your hard work within the community, it is definitely very special, for sure.”
Purschke is currently finishing up her Degree in Business with a major in General Management and International Business Studies and with a minor in Finance, Economics and Accounting. She was recently nominated for the Governor General Centennial gold medal of achievement for her classroom research work.
In other MRU news, Purschke’s Cougar teammate and fellow Park product Mackenzie Butz was named as a Canada West first team all-star team for this past season.
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