Women's Hockey | 6/26/2012 12:03:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – RIT women's hockey Head Coach #
Scott McDonald# announced the Class of 2016, the program's first at the Division I level on Wednesday, June 27. The group of five student-athletes includes three forwards and two defensemen. Three athletes hail from Ontario and two are from the United States.
“We are very excited to welcome our first Division I class to RIT,” said Head Coach
Scott McDonald, now entering his seventh season behind the bench with the Tigers. “We return a lot of experience and scoring from last year's team, but are able to add a talented group of recruits which will allow us to progress at the next level.”
Forwards
Katie Hubert (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas),
Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Kitchener-Waterloo Rangers), and
Carly Payerl (Kitchener, Ontario/Kitchener-Waterloo Rangers) will all be expected to contribute from day one, with all playing at least two seasons at the junior level.
Hubert, who stands 5-foot-8, played the last two seasons for the Burlington Barracudas of the Provincial Women's Hockey League. In 2011-12, she recorded 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists in 34 games. In 2010-11, Hubert tallied 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points in 35 games. In addition, she was a team captain at Burlington Nelson High School in 2011.
Paton and Payerl were teammates with the Waterloo K-W Rangers for the past three seasons. Paton, who stands 5-foot-3, recorded 13 points on four goals and nine assists in 2011-12, while Payerl, a 5-foot-9 forward, also had 13 points on six goals and seven assists. Paton also led Huron Park Huskies High School team in points during the 2011-12 season, while Payerl was a three-year captain at Resurrection Catholic School.
On defense,
Kristina Klishko (San Diego, CA/Jr. Russia National Team) and
Casidhe Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects) will look to bolster a very talented blue-line group in 2012-13.
Klishko, who was born in the United States, has dual citizenship, allowing her to play the last two years for the Jr. Russian National Team. Before going to play in Russia, Klishko played two seasons for the LA Selects Under 16 team.
Casidhe Kunichika, the younger sister of #
Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects)#, RIT's leading scorer for the last two seasons also played alongisde current Tigers #
Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects) and
Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects)# for the LA Selects Under 18 team and was a standout roller hockey player for the Marina High School men's team.
“This group of newcomers brings in much needed size and speed,” said McDonald, who is 135-22-10 in six seasons at RIT. “We think this is a group of dynamic student-athletes who will complement our talented returning players.”
RIT, in its final season as a Division III program, won the 2012 NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship and set a Division III record with 28 wins in 2011-12, finishing 28-1-1. The Tigers were 54-3-3 over the past two seasons and 135-22-11 since the start of the 2006-07 season.
The Tigers will play its first two regular season games as a Division I program, hosting College Hockey America opponent and perennial power Mercyhurst on Sept. 28-29 at Ritter Arena. On Sept. 23, RIT will play the Oakville (Ontario) Hornets of the Provincial Women's Hockey League in an exhibition contest at 2 p.m.
