ROCHESTER, NY – Scott McDonald, Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach, is excited to announce the RIT women’s hockey Class of 2019 on Tuesday, July 21. The class of nine student-athletes includes six forwards, two defensemen, and one goaltender. Five players hail from Canada, while four are from the United States.
“This is a very skilled and athletic class, which should contribute right away,” said McDonald, who is entering his tenth season behind the bench at RIT in 2015-16. “I’d like to thank our staff for their tireless effort recruiting during the year. We feel that this is an exciting group with a lot of potential and promise that will help us replace a tremendous group of seniors that graduated in 2015.”
Up front, Brooke Baker (Saline, MI/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles), Kendall Cornine (Kinnelon, NJ/East Coast Wizards), Kathryn Kennedy (Hamilton, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks), Mallory Rushton (Amherst, Nova Scotia/New Hampton Prep), Reagan Rust (Southaven, MS/Pittsburgh Penguins Elite), and Kandice Sheriff (Brampton, Ontario/Leaside Wildcats) will look to compete for playing time right away.
Baker, who stands, 5-foot-8, had 22 points on 11 goals and 11 assists in 50 games with the Niagara Jr. Eagles, helping lead them to the High Performance Hockey League New York State Championship. She also played three seasons with the Little Caesars under-19 and under-16 teams and appeared at the USA National Development camps from 2011-2014
Cornine played the 2014-15 season with the East Coast Wizards and Morristown Beard High School. At Morristown Beard, she broke the all-time New Jersey high school scoring record with 199 points in four seasons on 104 goals and 95 assists in 74 games. Cornine, who stands 5-foot-5, was named the New Jersey Girls High School Player of the Year in 2015 and won the New Jersey Devils High School Player of the Year in both 2014 and 2015.
Kennedy, also a 5-foot-5 forward, played the 2014-15 season with the Hamilton Hawks Midget AA team, recording 22 points on 10 goals and 12 assists in 32 games
Rushton played at New Hampton Prep School, recording 12 goals and 15 assists in 24 games played during 2014-15 season. As a junior, Rushton tallied 45 points on 24 goals and 21 assists in 34 games. A 5-foot-2 forward, Rushton was a two-time All-New Hampshire Prep School recipient and All-Region selection.
Rust, who stands 5-foot-8, played the 2014-15 season for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite under-19 team. She recorded 23 goals and 15 assists for 38 points in 55 games during the 2014-15 season. Rust can also be called upon to play defense.
Sheriff, who stands 5-foot-9, played the 2014-15 season with the Leaside Junior Wildcats of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League. She appeared in 34 games, recording four goals and five assists with a team-high 61 penalty minutes.
“Brooke (Baker) is a strong power forward who is tough to play against in the corners and in front of the net,” said McDonald, who enters the season with a 186-72-23 career record. “Kendall (Cornine) has an exceptional skill set with great speed and a high hockey IQ. Kathryn (Kennedy) can play in any situation, is very tenacious and smart on the ice. Mallory (Rushton) brings a lot of energy and is a proven goal scorer who plays much bigger than her size indicates. Reagan (Rust) is very crafty with the puck, is an exceptional playmaker, and has great size at 5-8. Kandice (Sheriff) is a tough power forward who has a nice touch as a playmaker and has a nose for the net.”
On defense, Brinna Dochinak (Marine on St. Croix, MN/Stillwater Ponies), Logan Land (Turkey Point, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas, and will look to make an immediate impact in 2015-16. Land could see time at forward as well.
Dochinak, who stands 5-foot-5, played last season with the Minnesota Blades and Stillwater Ponies. She had 22 points on six goals and 16 assists for Stillwater last season and was a two-time winner of the Norris Award as the team’s top defenseman.
Land, a 5-foot-8 skater who may step in at forward as well, played the 2014-15 season with the Burlington Junior Barracudas of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League. She chipped in with 23 points on 11 goals and 12 assists in 38 games.
“Brinna (Dochinak) has tremendous speed, is steady, and tough to beat in the defensive zone,” said McDonald. “Logan (Land) sees the ice really well, is a smooth skater, and will give us a boost offensively from the blue line.”
In goal, Jenna de Jonge (Abbotsford, British Columbia/Pursuit of Excellence) will compete for the starting job in goal after playing the last three seasons with the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy in British Columbia. de Jonge, who stands 5-foot-10, was the opposing goaltender in the first exhibition game at the Gene Polisseni Center, stopping 40 of 42 shots, as Pursuit of Excellence defeated RIT by a score of 3-2.
“Jenna brings great size and athletic ability to the position,” said McDonald. “I am excited to see her compete with Jetta (Rackleff) and Brooke (Stoddart) in the preseason, as it will be the most competitive position battle on our team.”
RIT begins its second season at the 4,300-seat Gene Polisseni Center this season and fourth overall as a Division I program. RIT is looking for its third straight league title and second consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers return 15 players from last season’s squad that won 15 games and advanced to the NCAA National Quarterfinals.
“This is a good group of student-athletes who have strong character and fit our culture,” said McDonald. “We are excited to have them help us take our program to an even higher level.”
