Abbey Heale in action for the Dunedin Thunder in their recent wins against the Canterbury Inferno. PHOTO: KEAPHOTOS Abbey Heale is back where she belongs. The Dunedin Thunder stalwart, who has been around the team about seven years, returned to the franchise this year after two years away with the Wakatipu Wild. Her team-mates will be thrilled to have her back — the alternate captain leads the team with five goals and three assists for eight points in her six games this season. The Thunder sit second in the New Zealand Women’s Ice Hockey League with three wins and three losses. ‘‘We’ve had some convincing wins and some tough wins,’’ Heale said. ‘‘We’re just continuously growing and it’s really awesome to be seeing that happening.’’ The coaching staff, led by head coach Mike Sam, gave the players freedom to express themselves on the ice and had been able to add additional trainings this season. They also added a strength and conditioning coach, Lachlan Boniface, who played for the Thunder’s men’s side, who added plenty. Players — who travelled from as far as the Mackenzie District for trainings — were committed and they had a strong squad of nearly 35 players to pull from. ‘‘We haven’t been able to have such depth before,’’ Heale said. ‘‘It’s awesome to be able to see those players ... who will be our future of the team as well.’’ The Thunder notched two strong wins earlier this month, beating Canterbury Inferno 5-1 and 3-0 in their double-headers. ‘‘I was going to say it never gets old beating Canterbury, but it never gets old winning really. ‘‘We had a mix of people contributing to the win as well, which is awesome to see.’’ They had a record crowd of 200 people packed into the Dunedin Ice Stadium and the team is riding the wave of the growing interest in the sport across the globe. They will be hoping for another strong crowd when they host the Wakatipu Wild in a double-header this weekend. It will be the Thunder’s first clash against the Queenstown side, who have yet to win a game this season, but that does not mean the Thunder are taking them lightly. ‘‘We’ve had a really good training week,’’ Heale said. ‘‘I think it’s awesome that our coaches really foster quite the creativity side of sport as well. They’re really good at putting that into momentum for us that we’re kind of there to just have fun but also work hard. ‘‘That’s what we’re going to continue to strive for this weekend.’’ The Inferno host the Auckland Steel in Christchurch this weekend.
