The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team has added a pair of provincial champions to their roster for the upcoming season.
North Bay Ice Boltz forwards Julie Vaillancourt and Chloe Dion have committed to suit up in the Ravens’ red, black, and white this fall.
Both women were teammates for the Midget AA squad last season en route to winning the provincial championship in the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) played in Ottawa in April 2013.
With the victory, the Ice Boltz had the opportunity to travel to Burnaby, B.C. to compete in the Esso Cup, the national women’s midget hockey championship, and captured the silver medal at the event.
Ravens head coach Shelley Coolidge said she is excited about adding two proven winners to the roster.
“There are few players that play in the midget division that can control the puck and play along the boards the way that [Dion] can,” Coolidge said.
Dion tallied 23 goals and 38 points in 73 games for the Ice Boltz last season. Vaillancourt scored 16 times and had 41 points in one fewer game.
“Vaillancourt is a real thinker and a playmaker,” Coolidge said. “[She] set up the winning goal that gave her team a chance to represent Ontario at the under-18 nationals.”
Dion said her familiarity with Ottawa was one of the reasons why she chose to commit to the Ravens.
“I’ve had a couple tournaments [in Ottawa] in the past few years. We actually played at Carleton and I fell in love with the facility,” she said. “The city is amazing and I want to get out of North Bay.”
Vaillancourt said her decision to join the Ravens had a lot to do with her chosen path of environmental studies.
“Carleton has an outstanding [environmental science] program,” she said.
“The hockey program is something I couldn’t miss out on. It’s a great hockey community and a great coaching staff, and they look to improve each one of their players.”
Coolidge said she is most excited about the grittiness and work ethic that the two new recruits will bring to the team when they hit the ice this fall.
“I think we’ve got an opportunity-— just watching the level of compete that they bring— for them to help bring that level up in the group of athletes we currently have.”
Both women said they know it will be a difficult transition from midget hockey to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) level, but both said they are ready for the challenge.
“The game pace is a lot faster,” Dion said. “Also, handling my schoolwork and playing hockey at the same time. It’s going to be hard to juggle everything around.”
“Trying to keep up with the fast pace, I know it will be a lot faster than I’m used to,” Vaillancourt said. “It will for sure be an adjustment at the beginning.”
Dion said she is excited to start her CIS career at Carleton, and Vaillancourt said she is glad to have a familiar face alongside her.
“Knowing Chloe as a person and a teammate will help a lot,” she said. “As teammates, we compete and thrive off each other, and I think that will help us keep on improving.”
