Kendra Woodland

Kendra Woodland arrived at the University of New Brunswick in the fall of 2018 and, over five seasons, built one of the most decorated careers in Canadian university hockey. The Kamloops, BC native, who catches left and wears number 70 for the Ottawa Charge, finished her time with the Reds holding a 53-35-0 record, a 1.68 goals-against average, and a .941 save percentage. Along the way she helped lead UNB to three Atlantic University Sports (AUS) championships.

The individual honours accumulated steadily. Woodland earned AUS Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie Team recognition in her first season in 2018-19, along with a spot on the national all-rookie team. She collected AUS First All-Star Team honours three times — in 2018-19, 2021-22, and 2022-23 — and was named to the AUS Second All-Star Team in 2019-20. Her final season, 2023-24, brought the AUS Most Valuable Player award and the Broderick Trophy as U Sports Female Athlete of the Year. She had finished runner-up for the U Sports Female Athlete of the Year award the year before, in 2023.

International competition added to her record. She won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the IIHF Women's U18 Championship in 2018, and in 2023 she was part of the Canadian squad that took gold at the Universiade, posting a 0.25 goals-against average, a .984 save percentage, and three shutouts across four games in that tournament.

Off the ice, Woodland has served as a Hockey Gives Blood (HGB) player ambassador since 2021, promoting blood and stem cell donation within the hockey community. During her years at UNB she helped organise and host blood drives twice a year and coordinated HGB and Canadian Blood Services themed games to raise awareness around the need for donation. She has donated blood ten times herself. In 2022 she was runner-up for the Dayna Brons Award for HGB, a recognition that made her the only female ever included in that award category before it transitioned into a CHL-specific award.

After completing her eligibility at UNB, Woodland did not immediately land with a PWHL team. According to Kevin Woodley on InGoal Radio, she spent the intervening year working on her own to stay prepared and eventually made a PWHL roster out of training camp, joining the Ottawa Charge ^[1]. Woodley noted she is believed to be the first goaltender to come out of U Sports and make a PWHL roster. She currently sits as Ottawa's third goaltender, and Charge goalie coach Pierre Groulx spoke positively about what he sees from her ^[1].

InGoal Magazine has covered Kendra Woodland in one podcast appearance. Episode 334 of InGoal Radio features Woodland discussing her path through Canadian university hockey and the year she spent grinding to reach the PWHL level — a conversation Woodley described as full of takeaways for goalies navigating that kind of transition ^[1].