Arizona Rubber

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Albuquerque native, Mustangs graduate Askenazy finds success at first-year NCAA D-III Lawrence

 

When one door closes, another one opens.

That was certainly the case this past season for Albuquerque native Lauren Askenazy.

During the 2019-20 season, Askenazy was rostered at NCAA Division III Connecticut College, but didn’t see game action.

For this past 2020-21 season, she transferred to Lawrence University, a school that was playing its first season of NCAA D-III women’s hockey.

“I was going to Connecticut College when my (Lawrence) coach Jocey Kleiber started recruiting players from my old hockey program HTI (Hockey Training Institute),” said Askenazy. “My previous coach there mentioned that I might be interested in transferring to Lawrence and Jocey contacted me. I visited Lawrence and realized it was a very good fit for me, so I ended up committing.

“I was very excited about being a part of a brand-new program and making history. Academically, the school was exactly what I was looking for with a strong bio program and smaller class sizes.”

Askenazy said she is planning to major in either Biology or Biochemistry.

askenazy_1st_LU_goal-paul_wilke

On the ice, she scored the first goal in Vikings’ program history this past season (pictured above).

Back home in New Mexico, Askenazy played for the New Mexico Ice Wolves and New Mexico Mustangs.

“All of the coaches I had in the Mustangs program were amazing, but my dad, Phil Askenazy, actually coached my Mustangs team and he was the person that really supported me and pushed me to always be better,” Askenazy said. “One of the highlights I had playing was when my Mustangs’ 14U team won the MSGHL championship in 2013.”

Not too shabby for someone who delved into hockey just a little over 10 years ago.

“I started playing when I was eight,” Askenazy remembered. “My brother played, and I figured I would try it out. The first time I tried it, I was absolutely hooked.”

Now a fixture at Lawrence and elated about the hockey program and academics, Askenazy is already gearing up for the future.

askenazy1

“I’m hoping to continue being a leader on my team here at Lawrence and I would eventually love to go play in Europe for a few years,” Askenazy said. “I’m not sure exactly what I want to do with my Biology degree, but I am thinking about possibly going to graduate school.

“It was a huge challenge playing for a brand-new team this season. Most teams can do team bonding to get to know each other, but we were unable to interact very much, which was very difficult. Even so, we were all incredibly thankful that we were able to have a season given the circumstances. I am very excited about what our team is going to look like in the next few years.”

Lawrence photos/Paul Wilke

— Matt Mackinder

(April 7, 2021)

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