Women's Hockey opens 2024-25 season at home against Assumption

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT women's hockey team begins the 2024-25 season with a pair of non-conference home games against Assumption, Friday and Saturday (Sept. 27-28).

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The Captains
Senior forward Megan McCormick and graduate student defensewoman Mia Tsilemos were named captains while sophomore defender Emma Pickering was named an Alternate Captain for the 2024-35 season. 

McCormick enters her final season with 21 career points on 12 goals and nine assists, while Tsilemos played in a career-high 35 games last season recording career highs in points (8) and assists (7). Pickering was a 2023-24 AHA All-Rookie Team selection and was fifth on the team in scoring (12 pts.). 

Returning Scorers
RIT returns five of its top seven scorers from last season. Senior forward Kylie Aquaro led the team in points (26), goals (10) and assists (16) in 2023-24, while sophomore forward Addie Alvarez was second with 20 points and 12 assists. Junior forward Jaidan Fahrny was fourth (13 pts.), while graduate student forward Nicole Ness and Pickering were tied for fifth with 12 points apiece.

Veterans On Defense
RIT returns its top seven defensewomen from last season led by Tsilemos and Pickering. Tsilemos finished fifth in the AHA and led the Tigers with a career-high 60 blocks, while Pickering was sixth in the league with 59 blocks and tied for fifth on the team in scoring. Senior Kyla Bear tied her career-high with 10 points including a career-best three goals and classmate Bailey Kehl finished tied for third on the team with a career-high 46 blocked shots. Senior Addie Carr scored a career-high two goals, classmate Jessie Burks finished third on the team with a career-best 10 assists and Bronwyn Khangsar saw action in 14 games.

Top-Tier Goalies
Junior Sophia Bellina and senior Sarah Coe each return in 2024-25. Bellina was a Second Team All-CHA selection last season, finishing second in the league with a 2.07 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. Coe, a 2022-23 Second Team All-CHA selection, recorded a 3.07 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 15 games last season.

The Newcomers
RIT welcomes six first-year players into the program in 2024-25. Kailey Favro, Zoe Ziotas, Brac Kelley and Ireland Stein will add depth at forward. Madison Buziak will sure up the Tigers defense and Brenna McNamara will compete for time in goal.

Milestone Watch
Aquaro is one point shy of reaching 50 career points and one assist shy of 35 career assists. Kehl needs four blocks to reach of 50 for her career, while McCormick is three blocks short of 120. 

AHA Preseason
The Tigers were picked fourth in the Atlantic Hockey America Preseason Coach's Poll behind Penn State (1), Mercyhurst (2) and Robert Morris (3). Pickering and Bellina each received votes in the Coaches' Preseason All-AHA Team.

2024-25 AHA Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Penn State (5) - 30
2. Mercyhurst (1) - 26
3. Robert Morris - 22
4. RIT - 16
T5. Syracuse - 13
T5. Lindenwood - 13

About Assumption
Assumption returns 21 players from last year's roster, including All-NEWHA selections Jenna Chaplain, Alexa Hanrahan and Kayla McGaffigan. The Greyhounds were picked sixth in the NEWHA Preseason Coaches' Poll after finishing 10-22-4 overall last season. 

Chaplain led Assumption in scoring, tallying 20 points and a team-high 14 assists. Hanrahan was second on the team in scoring with 19 points and was tied for first with 10 goals. Senior Sheridan Terrazzano was third on the team with 16 points and tied Hanrahan with 10 goals. Sophomore goalie Jadyn Weiser played in 10 games, posting three wins recording a 2.79 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.

RIT vs. Assumption
RIT is 2-0-0 after sweeping a pair of games at Assumption last season. McCormick, Ness and junior forward Lexi Sung each scored and Coe made 18 saves in the Tiger's 3-2 win. Sung recorded two assists and Emma Roland scored two goals in RIT's 5-1 win the following day. Bellina made 20 saves to earn the win in goal for RIT.

They Come from Far and Wide
The 26 Tigers hail from 11 states, two Canadian provinces and one country in Europe, with the largest groups coming from Ontario (6), Saskatchewan (4), Pennsylvania (3) and Illinois (3). Players hail from as close as Rochester, NY to as far away as Pale, Latvia (4,192 miles).

About Atlantic Hockey America
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) embarks on its first season in 2024-25 after the merger between the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. The conference fields 11 men's teams (American International College, Bentley University, Canisius College, The College of Holy Cross, Mercyhurst University, Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, Sacred Heart University, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Military Academy), and six women's teams (Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, and Syracuse University). In 2025-26, Delaware University will join the women's league.