Brock women’s hockey announces 2010-11 recruits

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - Brock University women’s hockey head coach Jim Denham is pleased to announce nine recruits for the upcoming 2010-11 season.

Coach Denham has two local players committed, which include forwards Jessica Fickel (Fort Erie, Ont.) and Leigh Vanderveen (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) who both played Midget AA in Niagara Falls.

“Both Jessica and Leigh have a strong upside,” said Denham.“They both skate very well and have a good scoring touch around the net. Throughout the history of our program we have not had many local players commit, so this is nice opportunity for both these players to pursue their education at Brock and play in front of a hometown crowd while helping promote Badgers hockey within the Niagara region.”

Five of the nine recruits come from the PWHL, which include forwards Katie Howlett (Burlington, Ont. / Hamilton Hawks), Alexis Ardell (Mississauga, Ont. / Brampton), Megan Keane (Whitby, Ont. / Whitby Wolves), Sara Wood (Mississauga, Ont. / Burlington Barracudas) and defensemen Kaitie Phelan (Kitchener, Ont. / Kitchener-Waterloo Rangers).

“At 5-foot-10 Katie will bring some size and strength to our lineup,” said Denham. “She also has good speed, an excellent shot and can finish around the goal.”

“Alexis and Megan are both smaller forwards but have similar styles of play. They both have good speed and agility, see the ice well and are threats to score offensively.”

“Sara can play either forward or defense,” explained Denham. “She is a very strong skater and will have more of a defensive responsible as a rookie.”

“On the blueline, Kaitie will add depth to our already strong defensive unit. She has good size and makes a great first pass on the breakout.”

Rounding out the players reporting to training camp in September are forward / defenseman Morgan Bonnah (North Bay, Ont. / North Bay Sr.) and goaltender Kelly Ferguson (Ottawa, Ont. / Ottawa Midget AA).

"Morgan can play either forward or defense," said Denham. "She is a strong player with great speed and accellaration."

"Kelly will be a good backup to Beth this season as a rookie. She is a strong butterfly goaltender with good size and mobility."

The Badgers open their 2010-11 Training Camp on September 7th at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.