NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack women's ice hockey team will open up the 2020-21 season with a weekend series against the Holy Cross Crusaders.
The Warriors return three of the top five scorers from last season in senior
Dominika Laskova, junior
Keisha-Shanelle DiCaire and senior
Courtney Maud, all looking to match their double digit point totals from last year.
A duo leading the sophomore class are goaltender
Emma Gorski, who returns with the most experience in goal for the Warriors after making nine appearances last season, and
Katie Kaufman, who led in rookie scoring last year. Along with the high shot output of senior captain
Megan Fergusson, the team looks to capitalize on a balanced scoring attack.
The Warriors have
added nine first years to the mix, with four defenders, four forwards and a goaltender joining the program as members of the Class of 2024. The four forwards bring an offensive firepower to the program, with
Hannah Corneliusen coming in as the leading goal and points scorer in Minnesota high school hockey, while
Ally Qualley led all Minnesota high school players in assists. They're joined up front by center
Reagan Minor from the Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres and
Carly Glover, an Alaska All-Star who previously competed for USA Hockey.
For the defense,
Grace Karunakar comes from competing in the PWHL,
Natalie Nemes from Tabor Academy in Massachusetts,
Raice Szott from the Ontario Hockey Academy and
Bree Bergeron, a late addition from Loomis Chaffee. The defensive corps comes to the Warriors with playoff experience and a range of leadership both on and off the ice. In goal, the Warriors added
Aries Mustoe, coming to Merrimack from the Oakville Jr. Hornets of the PWHL.
Quick Hits:
•The team's trio of seniors will all be representing as captains for the season, with
Megan Fergusson serving as captain and
Dominika Laskova and
Courtney Maud serving as assistants.
• In two of the last three seasons, the Warriors have won their first game of the year.
• The Warriors hold a 3-3-0 overall record against the Crusaders, including two shutout wins for Merrimack.
• This is the first time the Warriors have played on December 11 since the 2015-16 season.
A Look at the Crusaders:
Holy Cross has competed in four games thus far in the year, coming into the series after a pair of losses against No. 9 Providence on Dec. 4 and 5. The team's first win of the year came against Maine on Nov. 21 with a two-goal third period pushing Holy Cross to a 3-2 win. Junior Sommer Ross leads the team in scoring with two goals and three points, while Jada Brennon has started in three of the Crusaders' contests, taking a win with a 2.03 goals against average.
Up Next
The Warriors will finish the weekend at Holy Cross on Saturday with puck drop on SportsLive at 3 p.m.
