2009-10 NEWS RELEASES

UOIT Ridgebacks Media Release
Friday, May 29, 2009

Ridgebacks women’s hockey brings new goaltender into the mix

Oshawa, Ont. – Since being named the second head coach of the UOIT Ridgebacks women’s hockey program, Karen Nystrom has been working non-stop in her quest on building the Ridgebacks into a championship contender. Nystrom continued to put her stamp on the roster as she recently announced the addition of local standout goaltender Jessica Larabie (Whitby, Ont.) to the 2009-10 Ridgebacks lineup.

Larabie brings a wealth of experience to the Ridgebacks squad after playing in 29 regular season games with the Whitby Wolves in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) over the past two seasons. In the 2008-09, she was in between the pipes in 16 games, amassing a 6-6-4 record and an excellent 2.26 goals against average. Larabie’s goals against average was good enough to place her in the top third of PWHL goalies.

In 2007-08, in her rookie season with the Wolves, Larabie posted a sparkling 8-3-1 record while her 2.09 goals against average was good enough for ninth among PWHL goalies. She added one shutout in the campaign helping guide the Wolves to the league play-offs.

“Jessica is an excellent goalie,” commented Nystrom. “She’s got the experience and has put up solid numbers with Whitby. I’m confident she can perform on that level at UOIT and have a successful university career with us.”

Larabie joins an already strong recruiting class including former Whitby Wolves teammates Sarah Worthington (Whitby, Ont.) and Jillian Morillo (Whitby, Ont.) along with forwards Megan Steacy (Gananoque, Ont.) and Jaclyn Gibson (Cobourg, Ont.) and defenseman Jennifer Guenette (Brighton, Ont.). The new recruits will provide depth and talent to a large group of returning players for the Ridgebacks. The team looks set to have their best season yet in their third year of OUA Hockey.

The UOIT Women’s Hockey team opens up the 2009-10 season with exhibition games against the University of Ottawa and Carleton University in Ottawa on September 26 and 27. Make sure you check out www.uoitridgebacks.com next week as the complete men's and women's hockey schedules will be released along with season ticket promotional information.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
905.721.3117 (F)
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca