WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 29, 2021) -- A new season of women's ice hockey at King's College gets underway this weekend as the Monarchs host SUNY Canton for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday at Revolution Ice in Pittston.

When the puck drops for the first time on Saturday it will be almost exactly 616 days since Josée Aitken scored the game-winning goal in overtime to end the 2019-20 season and the last time the Monarchs saw action in a regulation game after opting out of the shortened season a year ago. This year's squad is going to look a lot different with a new coach, flashy new uniforms, and a lot of new faces. There are nine returners from two years ago and 18 sophomores and first years who will be making their collegiate debuts this season.

New head coach Jordan Ott has brought a sense of new excitement around the program as the team will look to qualify for the UCHC Tournament for the first time in program history.

FORWARDS
Aitken returns for a fifth year as the program's all-time leading scorer with 26 points on 13 goals and 13 assists. She was selected to the UCHC Players to Watch List for the third time in her career earlier this week. The captain is a two-time All-MAC Honorable Mention selection. Senior Alexa Kovaly joins Aitken with the most experience among the forwards skating in 48 games during her first two years at King's recording two career points on one goal and one assist.

The junior class has three skaters who will compete for playing time this year. Alyssa Cussatt skated in all 25 games as a rookie and had one assist. Emma Knoll saw action in 18 games while Charlotte McClanahan skated in eight. Four sophomores will be making their collegiate debuts on Saturday. Emma Dos Santos is expected to be one of the top scorers for the team and was named to the UCHC Players to Watch List. The Dow, IL native scored a pair of goals last spring in the team's Senior Day Intrasquad Exhibition. Savannah Willard, Ryan Bisgard, and Rae Hughes are all expected to see a lot of ice time this season and contribute to the attack. Willard is from Chino, CA, and played for the Boston Shamrocks, Bisgard is a Denver, CO native and a product of the Littleton Hawks, and Hughes played for the Philadelphia Junior Flyers Girls as a native of Coatesville, PA.

Coach Ott brought in six fresh faces this year to aid the offense. Ani Quindipan is from Livermore, CA, and played for the Tri-Valley Lady Blue Devils. Tessa Deemer is a product of Steel City Selects and is from Tarentum, PA. Jordan Dittmar is also a PA native, residing in Perkasie and is one of three Monarchs who played for the Princeton Tiger Lilies. Becca Allen is the second Monarch who played for the Tiger Lilies and is a native of Cherry Hill, NJ. Emma Besa is from Broomall, PA, and played for the Philadelphia Little Flyers. Emma Clark, who also is a member of the King's College field hockey team, is from Richford, NY, and played for the Syracuse Valley Eagles.

DEFENSE
The Monarchs will look to have a strong defensive unit this season with two seniors, one junior, two sophomores, and three first years. Erin King and Meghan Mietlicki will look to lead the group in their senior seasons. King was named an assistant captain after playing 50 games over two seasons and recording five assists. Mietlicki was named to the UCHC Players to Watch List as a two-time All-MAC honoree. She has nine assists in 47 career games played. Ali Noeding was named captain as a junior after a spectacular rookie campaign where she recorded two points on one goal and one assist in 19 games.

Sophomore Dianna Duncan was named an assistant captain of the squad and is expected to help lead the defense. She is from Canandaigua, NY and played for Canandaigua Academy. Classmate Sam Kulman played for the CT Northern Lights and is from Thomaston, CT. The two sophomores will be joined by first years Audrey Martin, Perri Cronk, and Kait Wolf in skating in their first NCAA game on Saturday. Martin is the third member of the team who played for the Princeton Tiger Lilies and is from New Hope, PA. Cronk is a native of Vernon, NY, and played for the Clinton Warriors while Wolf played for the Buffalo Bisons and is a native of Springville, NY.

GOALTENDERS
The Monarchs will have a new look in net this year after the graduation of Kiva Sierra Stoltz and Emma Zeveney. Senior Hannah Bowers is the lone returner on the team after playing in seven games as a sophomore. She will look to provide leadership and experience to newcomers Syd Dahl, Juli Wilson, and Mandy Kaminsky. Dahl is from Colorado Springs, CO, and played for Rampart. Wilson is a product of the Mid Hudson Polar Bears and resides in Clifton Park, NY. Kaminsky is a Harleysville, PA native and played for the Philadelphia Junior Flyers Girls.