ROCHESTER, NY – Scott McDonald, Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach, is excited to announce the RIT women’s hockey Class of 2020. The class of six student-athletes includes four forwards, one defensemen, and one goaltender. Five players hail from Canada, while one is from the United States.
“This is an exciting bunch of newcomers, who are hard nosed players and know how to win,” said McDonald, who is entering his 11th season behind the bench at RIT in 2016-17. “Five of the six are coming off championship seasons. All played big roles on their championship teams and know how to elevate their teams at the right time.”
Up front, Claudia Black (Newmarket, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Aeros), Madison Farrand (Potomac, MD/Washington Pride), Tori Haywood (Pickering, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Aeros), and Jade Mancini (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Jr. Barracudas) will look to compete for playing time right away. Defenseman Taylor Baker (Toronto, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Aeros) and goaltender Terra Lanteigne (Hatchet Lake, Nova Scotia/Metro Boston Pizza AAA) will also look to crack the lineup as first-year student-athletes.
Black, Haywood, and Baker all played together last season with the Toronto Aeros of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), teaming up to win the Alumni Cup Championship and Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) Provincial title.
Baker, a 5-foot-4 defenseman, played the last two seasons with Toronto, serving as an assistant captain in both 2014-15 and 2015-16. Last season, she played in 36 regular season games, tallying 13 points on three goals and 10 assists and added a goal and an assist in 11 playoff games. Baker recorded 16 points on seven goals and nine assists in 36 games during the 2014-15 season.
“Taylor has a steadying presence and makes very good decisions in the defensive zone,” said McDonald. “She has a strong, heavy shot from the blue line as well.”
Black, who stands 5-foot-5, served as an assistant captain for Toronto in 2015-16 and played in 21 regular season games, tallying eight points on four goals and four assists. She added a goal and an assist in four playoff games to help lead the Aeros to the league championship. Black played the 2014-15 season with the Aurora Panthers of the PWHL, recording 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists, while serving as an assistant captain.
“Claudia brings a great skill set and has an outstanding hockey IQ,” said McDonald. “She will help us on both ends of the ice.”
Haywood, a 5-foot-3 forward, played the last two seasons with Toronto. In 2015-16, she appeared in 21 regular season games, tallying 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists and added three goals and three assists in 11 playoff games. In 2014-15, Haywood recorded 23 points on seven goals and 16 assists in 38 games.
“Tori will add needed speed and grit to the lineup and has a knack for scoring big goals in important situations,” said McDonald.
Farrand, who stands 5-foot-4, played the last three seasons with the Washington Pride U-19 team, serving as team captain in 2015-16 and assistant captain during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. She scored the game-winning goal in the 2016 Junior Women’s Hockey League Championship game to lift Washington to the league title. Overall, Farrand had 32 points on nine goals and 23 points in 36 games during the 2015-16 season and played in the JWHL South All-Star Game in 2014-15.
“Madison shows exceptional on-ice leadership and is a proven winner,” said McDonald. “We believe her locker room presence will also be a real asset for us.”
Lanteigne, a 5-foot-8 goaltender, played the last two seasons with Metro Boston Pizza of the Nova Scotia Female Midget AAA Hockey League. In 2015-16, Lanteigne led Metro Boston Pizza to the league championship and was 7-3-2 with a league best six shutouts and league low 0.93 goals against average. She was named the NSFMAAAHL Top Goaltender in 2015-16 and recorded a .959 save percentage in the 2016 Esso Cup. In 2014-15, Lanteigne went 9-1 with a 1.20 goals against average and two shutouts, earning top goaltender honors.
“Terra backstopped her team in Nova Scotia to the league title, showing good athleticism,” said McDonald. “She will push for playing time right away.”
Mancini, a 5-foot-8 forward, played the 2015-16 season with the Burlington Jr. Barracudas of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), recording 17 points on eight goals and nine assists in 37 games. She also added two game-winning goals and a power-play tally.
“We will rely on Jade for her versatility as she gets more comfortable at the Division I level,” said McDonald. “She can play both forward or defense, which will give us more options in all situations.”
RIT begins its third season at the 4,300-seat Gene Polisseni Center this season and fifth overall as a Division I program. RIT is looking for its third league title in four seasons and second berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers return 17 players from last season’s squad that advanced to the First Round of the CHA Tournament.
“This is a good group who all fit what we want in a student-athlete,” said McDonald. “We welcome them to the RIT hockey family and hope they can help get us back to where we should be as a program, contending for a CHA Championship and spot in the NCAA Tournament.”
