Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's hockey team releases their 2023-24 roster, announced today by head coach
Logan Bittle.
After some work in the transfer portal and recruiting across the country, Bittle and his staff return to the ice with 24 players in the lineup. Rejoining the College Hockey America conference, the Colonials added nine freshmen and nine transfers along with their six current members for the upcoming campaign.
"We're thrilled to announce our roster for the 2023-24 season," said Bittle. "We have a wonderful balance of experience of youthfulness."
On the offensive side of the ice, RMU will have 14 forwards. Returning from last year's roster is
Mya Neugent and
Calli Arnold.
Headlining the forward group for the Colonials is
Madison Primeau, a junior transfer from Syracuse University. In her two seasons spent in New York, Primeau played 68 games and recorded 32 points.
Bittle also brought in some experience with three graduate transfers to play up top, including
Courtney Hall,
Jersey Phillips and
Shailynn Snow. Coming from St. Cloud State University, Hall produced 28 total points in her junior and senior seasons. Phillips is joining the Colonials after three seasons up north in Erie, Pa., at Mercyhurst University. She put together nine points in her time spent with a fellow CHA opponent. And,
Shailynn Snow comes to RMU with over 100 games of experience (117). In four years at St. Lawrence University, she picked up 23 goals and 75 points.
Also, adding some more talent is a duo in
Alaina Giampetro and
Morgan Giannone. Giampetro arrives from Ohio State University, and Giannone also comes from St. Lawrence University with her teammate
Shailynn Snow.
Injecting some youth to the forward core, Bittle brought in six freshmen.
Laura Eustace from Riverview, Canada is coming off a successful season with the Ontario Hockey Academy team. She posted 36 points in 62 games in the U22 OWHL, ranking fourth in the league in points. From Pickering, Ontario,
Catriona Crarer enters her first collegiate season after four years with the Durham West Junior squad, averaging over a point per game in the league. She paced for 78 points in 73 games the past two seasons and was ranked fifth in points produced two seasons ago.
Another student-athlete from Canada joining RMU is
Alyssa Rasmuson, a native of Moosomin, Saskatchewan. The past three years, she played for the Notre Dame Hounds, collecting 40 points in 59 games. Rounding out the Canadian freshman group is
Janelle Evans, a forward out of Bethune, Saskatchewan. In her youth career, she played two seasons for the RINK Kelowna Hockey Academy team, playing 53 games, totaling 68 points and 12 points in 10 playoff appearances. In the CCSHL league she was fifth in points (42) this past season and second in assists with 35.
From the United States, coming from Illinois, teammates
Brynn Levinson and
Lindsey Smolen arrived with time playing at Chicago Mission in their high school seasons.
"Our forward group is a wonderful balance of talent both with our incoming freshmen, and our transfers," said Bittle. "We have big expectations for this group."
Moving onto the blue line, the Colonials have seven defensemen ready to make an impact. "Being in our unique situation, we are lucky to return four defensemen from our CHA championship team in 2021," stated Bittle.
Allyson Hebert,
Gillian Thompson and
Wasyn Rice were three members of the CHA championship team in 2021. A native of Toronto, Ontario, Thompson will be a veteran presence for the Colonials, as she's played 88 games already in her career, along with four goals and 17 assists on her resume. Her teammate
Wasyn Rice has appeared in 94 games under Bittle, registering 10 points so far in her career. Hebert has 58 games under her belt with plenty of experience on the penalty kill.
In addition to three veterans, the Colonials welcome
Chloe Puddifant, a graduate transfer and
Chace Sperling, a senior, to the roster. Puddifant is an attacking defenseman from St. Lawrence University. In her freshman season, she played a year at Dartmouth College, playing in 29 games. For the last three campaigns at St. Lawrence, she totaled 86 games on the ice with 36 points. Sperling returned to the Colonials, as she was on the team in 2021 and then played two years at St. Cloud.
Working alongside five veterans are two freshmen from Pennsylvania, ready for CHA competition.
Kaitlyn Schooley, who is joining her hometown team, is the daughter of RMU men's hockey head coach Derek Schooley. Growing up in Moon Township, she played in the USHS for the Gilmour Academy, and most recently played a season with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 19U team. From West Chester, Pa.,
Thalia D'Elia is starting her collegiate career in the Keystone State for RMU. On the other side of the state, D'Elia played four years for the Philadelphia Flyers Junior 19U squad. Last year, in 74 games, she produced 55 points, making it into the top 10 leaderboards in points.
"We will be a veteran team on the back end and have young, hungry players joining our blue line," stated Bittle.
RMU is also rostering three goalies for the 2023-24 campaign. Sophomore
Maggie Hatch was on the roster this past season, training in the off-season. Bittle also brought in a graduate transfer,
Emma Gorski. In four seasons at Merrimack College, Gorski took on the starting role early on, playing 83 games and owning a .897 save percentage. And finally, the last addition to the netminder trio is
Liviya Rubin, a hometown player from Pittsburgh. Rubin for the last three years played for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite teams.
"We have a very talented stable of goaltenders," said Bittle. The three goalies we have come in with a wide variety of experience and will make a wonderful group as our last line of defense."
To view the full roster on the website, click
here.
RMU will open their season on the road at Union College for a two-game series on September 29 and 30.
The home portion of its 2023-24 campaign will begin with a 2:00 p.m. puck drop at Clearview Arena Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at the RMU Island Sports Center on Neville Island against Saint Anselm. Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are on sale now and
can be purchased by using the following link. There are a limited number of season tickets available, so make sure to purchase yours today.
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