Moon Township, Pa. - May 11, 2010 - Robert Morris University Women's Hockey Head Coach Nate Handrahan announced today the signing of two players to a National Letter of Intent, who will compete in the 2010-11 season. The signees include defenseman Kylie St. Louis (Windsor, Ontario / Southwest Wildcats) and netminder Meeri Räisänen (Tampere, Finland / Espoo Blues Finland).
St. Louis and Räisänen will join five members of their class, who signed NLI's in the fall of 2009. St. Louis will mark the sixth newcomer to come from Canada, while Räisänen features the first athlete from Finland to be added to the Colonial roster. The two newcomers will join a competitive group of 17 returners, including 10 forwards, four defensemen and three goalies.
2010-11 National Letter of Intent Signees (2)
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Name
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Pos.
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Ht.
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Yr.
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Hometown / Previous Team
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Kylie St. Louis
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D
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5-9
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Fr.
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Windsor, Ontario / Southwest Wildcats
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Meeri Räisänen
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G
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5-6
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Fr.
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Tampere, Finland / Espoo Blues Finland
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Kylie St. Louis - Played for the Southwest Wildcats and led all defensemen on her team for scoring with six goals and 16 assists for 22 points ... Her 16 assists ranked third overall on the Southwest Wildcats ... Fifth in the Provincial Women's Hockey League for defensemen scoring ... While playing for Holy Names High School led her team to a bronze medal finish at the OFSSA Hockey Championships ... Played in 33 of 34 games during the 2009-10 season on the Wildcats squad.
"Kylie is a great addition to our Colonial family," said Handrahan. "She is a player who will bring a passion for the game coupled with a big shot, intimidating size and great hockey sense. She will add to our quality on the blue line as well as our depth. We are very excited to have Kylie joining us."
Meeri Räisänen - Finished the 2009-10 campaign with a .938 save percentage, which helped lead her team to a silver medal in the Finnish Champion League and a silver medal in the European Women's Championship ... In the 2008-09 season competed in the Finnish Championship as part of the Espoo Blues and competed in the Junior Championship on the Tampere Ilves team ... Participated in the national camp prior to the 2010 Olympics ... In 2006-07 competed in the Junior National Tournaments and was awarded the best goalie of the tournament trophy ... Earned the same award while competing in the N18 Euro Hockey Tour in 2006.
"We are excited to be adding our first Finnish player to our program," said Handrahan. "Meeri is a very technical goaltender with very good size and has been a top goaltender in the top league in Finland where their Olympians play. She is a very detail oriented person and is as excited to come to Moon Township as we are to welcome her."
