The Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles Girl’s 19U team coached by Scott Welch is the highest ranked girl’s team in New York and ranked 13th in the United States. The Niagara team was the only team from New York to advance to the Medal Round of the East Coast Wizards Holiday Tournament held in Boston, finishing 2nd overall. The team has an overall record of 22-8-2.
For the 3rd consecutive year, every senior is committed to play college hockey:
- Ciara Barone-Providence College
- Jada Brenon-Holy Cross
- Morgan Bronstein-Trinity College
- Gabby DeMeo- Nazareth College
- Rene Gangarosa-Penn State University
- Emily Kromer- Nazareth College
- Taylor Pietrowski-Cornell University
- Holly Schmelzer-Plattsburgh State
Recently junior Ally Watrous committed to Quinnipiac University bringing the number of Coach Welch’s players who are currently committed or gone on to play college hockey at over 80. The remaining underclassman who are not committed as of the time of this article are being heavily recruited.
The team will regroup after playing for their respective high schools and resume play in early March. The Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles will prepare to defend the New York State Championship for the 4th consecutive year and return to the USA National Championship which will be held in Marlboro, Massachusetts. The teams focus is to : develop each players skill set to prepare them to play college hockey, provide exceptional exposure to the colleges, have fun, and to play championship hockey.
