Four defenceman & goalie join program

With his group of forwards announced for the 2011-12 season, head coach Scott Rivett focused on the back end, committing four defenceman from four provinces and one goalie to the Cougars women’s hockey program.

Rayna Cruickshank (BC), Jocelyn Froehlich (Saskatchewan), Taylor Andrews (Alberta) and Lindy Brunet (Manitoba) will patrol a Cougars blue-line that allowed a league best 34 goals against in 24 regular season games last season.

Headlining the new defensive core will be former University of British Columbia (UBC) and U-18 Team Canada member Rayna Cruickshank.

Cruickshank, out of Cumberland, BC, played with the Thunderbirds in 2009-10, recording five goals and two assists in 23 games.

Rayna participated at the national level with the Canadian Team at the 2009 World Women’s Under-18 Championship in Fussen, Germany, where her team finished with a silver medal.

Described as steady defender with great on-ice awareness, head coach Scott Rivett sees her as a key piece of next year’s lineup.

“She’s a high level defenceman with experience in international competition and adds a lot to our program. She’s big, strong, and physical and brings some leadership and maturity to our back end in combination with what we already have back there.”

Joining Cruickshank will be Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan native Jocelyn Froehlich.

Froehlich was a member of the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings last season of the Saskatchewan Female Midget Hockey League (SFMHL), totaling two goals and 18 assists in 28 games.

Frohlich’s Gold Wings made it to the SFMHL semi-final before being disposed of by the Saskatoon Stars, the former team of fellow rookies Kacy Smith, Ellen Lind and Jade Osadchuk.

Coach Rivett calls her an “intelligent defenceman who is used to playing against some of the best in the country,” referencing her experience on Team Saskatchewan at the Canada Winter Games.

Locally, the Cougars will turn to Taylor Andrews to continue the type of defensive dominance the team is used to. Having surrendered only 1.4 goals per game last regular season, the Cougars continue to search for puck-moving defenceman who can not only play great defence but can also provide an offensive spark, something they feel they’ve found in Andrews.

“She’s just a real mobile player,” said Rivett. “She loves to get involved in the play offensively. She probably wasn’t on a lot of radar screens last season, but the more we watched her, the more we realized just how good she is. She adds a lot of depth to our core and has a ton of room for growth moving forward.”

The fourth defenceman joining the fray will be former Pembina Valley Hawk, Lindy Brunet.
Brunet played with the Hawks for three seasons, helping the team to three Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League (MFMHL) titles and two Hockey Manitoba Provincial Championships.

Over her three years, Lindy helped anchor the province’s best defensive team while contributing with 63 points over three seasons (12 goals and 51 assists).

Lindy was part of the 2010 Manitoba Games Gold Medal winning Central Region Team and in 2010 made Hockey Manitoba's Program of Excellence Final 40 Summer Camp.

A steady defender known for her ability to make a great first pass, coach Rivett is looking forward to having Brunet join the lineup.

“We’re happy to have her on the back-end,” said Rivett. “She’s a tough kid, who moves the puck real well. She’s used to playing against the other teams’ top lines and we think she’ll be an excellent addition to our roster.”

Also making the jump to the Cougars stable will be former red-shirt goaltender Jessica Ross.

Ross spent last season with the Cougars, practicing with the team and providing competition to starting duo Kendall Kilgour and Leanne Pfliger.

Now, Ross will get a chance to flash the leather on the big stage as the three netminders compete for minutes in what should be an intriguing competition – one that coach Rivett thinks will bring out the best in all three goalies.

“[Ross] is just a great person and player, who’s been successful everywhere she’s been,” stated Rivett.

In 2008-09 Ross played with the Alberta Provincial team and was also named the top goaltender at the ‘08-09 Mac’s Midget AAA tournament with the Calgary Bruins.

“At the end of the day I feel like we have three number one goaltenders,” said Rivett.

“Throughout camp and pre-season we’ll get a chance to see them all and they’ll be the ones to decide who’s a number one, who’s a number two and who’s a three. They are all great friends and are all in the same academic program [Criminal Justice] and at the end of the day some healthy competition is good. I know they all respect one another and want to see the team and each other be successful and I think you need that in a positive team environment.”

In addition to her minor hockey experience, Ross also spent one season with the University of Calgary Dinos, appearing in two games before an injury cut her inaugural season short.

With seven new forwards, four defenceman and a new goalie joining the mix, the Cougars will look to get back to their third straight ACAC final.

Coach Rivett says he’s expects the team to be deeper than ever before.

“That was the thing with our entire roster, both with forwards, defence and in goal, was to create some competition and depth within our lineup to push ourselves to where we ultimately think we need to be, not only next year but for many years to come.”