Women's Hockey | 8/10/2011 10:21:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – RIT Head Coach #
Scott McDonald# announced the women's hockey team's Class of 2015 on Wednesday. The group of seven student-athletes includes four forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender. Six student-athletes from the incoming class are from Canada and one hails from the United States.
“(Former) Assistant Coach
Keltie Jones (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Jr. Barracudas) has helped put together another promising freshman class,” stated McDonald, RIT's all-time leader in coaching wins, who enters his sixth season as head coach of the Tigers. “This class should be able to come in and contribute right away and will complement our outstanding core of returning players. We're really excited about this class because each player will bring something different to the team.”
Up front,
Lindsay Grigg (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Hornets) (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Hornets),
Julie Hall (Mississauga, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) (Mississauga, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs),
Marissa Maugeri (Ajax, Ontario/Durham West Lightning) (Ajax, Ontario/Durham West Lightning), and
Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy) (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy) will provide plenty of offense and character to RIT, who led the nation in goals per game a year ago.
Grigg, who stands 5-foot-6 was the captain for Oakville and led the squad with 10 goals and three game-winning tallies in 2010-11. Hall, at 5-foot-7 was part of a standout team at Mississauga that won the Ontario Women's Hockey Association Intermediate AA Provincial Gold Medal. Maugeri, a 5-foot-2 assistant captain for Durham West, led her squad with 14 goals, seven game-winning tallies, and five power-play goals. Brown, who stands 5-foot-6, tallied 77 points (32-45-77) in 67 games for the National Sports Academy in 2010-11.
“Lindsay (Grigg) is your ultimate two way player,” said McDonald. “She's a very strong skater that has the ability to score and set up plays, but is equally as good in the defensive zone. Julie (Hall) is a great play-maker that has quick hands and patience when the puck is on her stick and is strong defensively. Marissa (Maugeri) will arguably be one of the fastest players in the conference. She has a quick first step that translates into breakaway speed. She's going to be a very exciting player to watch. Celeste (Brown) is a power forward who is solid on her feet and fearless in front of the net. She plays hard all of the time, will grind it out in the corners, bang in a big goal and be willing to block any shot coming her way.”
On defense junior teammates,
Emilee Bullied (Waterdown, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) and
Morgan Scoyne (Drumbo, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) (Drumbo, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) will be expected to earn playing time right away.
Bulleid, at 5-foor-5, recorded eight points in 36 games last season for Stoney Creek, and was a two-year captain at Waterdown District High School, helping the team win three straight city championships. Scoyne, RIT's tallest first-year player, at 5-foot-8, played in 36 games at Stoney Creek and is known as a tough, stay at home defenseman.
“Emilee (Bulleid) is a smooth skating defenseman with great vision and offensive instincts,” said McDonald, who enters the 2011-12 season with a record of 107-21-9 at RIT. “She knows when to jump into the play and will be tough to beat one on one because of her skating ability. We feel Morgan (Scoyne) is going to be a great addition to our defensive core. She is a defensive defenseman with great size and outstanding reach. She's a good skater who also enjoys the physical part of the game and isn't afraid to play tough in the corners or in front of the net.”
In net,
Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) teamed with Hall to help Mississauga win the Ontario Provincial Championship. Binnington led the league with a 0.99 goals against average, .955 save percentage, and five shutouts, while finishing 14-1. She will compete for a starting role along with incumbent Tiger goaltenders #
Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects) and
Carley King (Tinley Park, IL)#.
“Ali is an athletic goalie that has great mobility in tight situations, and has great size to cut down angles,” said McDonald. Ali led her team to numerous tournament championships during the year as well as the very prestigious Ontario Provincial Tournament. Her numbers speak for themselves.”
The Tigers enjoyed their best season in program history last season, advancing to the 2011 NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship game, while setting a school mark with a 26-2-2 record. The Tigers were the No. 1 team in the country for 11 weeks last season, and started the year with a 17-game winning streak and 23-game unbeaten run. RIT returns 16 players from last season's squad and will look to win its first NCAA Championship in 2011-12.
“Team expectations are at an all time high since I've been coaching here and these seven freshmen will help us as we continue to prepare our team for another long play-off run,” said McDonald, who has led RIT to two NCAA Tournament Appearances.
