UMaine women’s ice hockey program bringing in 8 freshmen

The University of Maine women’s ice hockey team is bringing in eight freshmen as the Black Bears look to improve upon last year’s 11-21-3 campaign.

Fourth-year head coach Molly Engstrom has four defensemen and four forwards joining the program.

“It’s going to be a good class,” said Engstrom, who expects her freshmen to be impactful and contribute right away.

One of the four defensemen, Lulu Rucinski, is from Orono but it’s Orono, Minnesota, not Maine.

The other three defensemen are Paige Fong from Pickering, Ontario, Sade Sandilands from Carstairs, Alberta and Camille Dubuc from Edina, Minn. Dubuc will be a redshirt next season.

The forwards are Isabelle Michaud from Drummond, New Brunswick, Mackenzie Podewell from

Wheaton, Illinois, Darragh Browne from Oakville, Ontario, and Ali Altiman from Thamesville, Ontario.

Engstrom said they wanted to bring in players who could help the team “get better overall” with goal scorers being at the top of the priority list.

“We need a high end forward and we’re getting much closer to that,” said Engstrom, whose Black Bears managed to score only 65 goals in 35 games a year ago.

And they have lost players who combined to score 23 of them.

Michaud could be one of the answers to their goal scoring problems as she is coming off a season at Standstead College where she scored 29 goals and assisted on 34 more for 63 points in 66 games. Stanstead College is a boarding high school in Quebec.

“She has a nice touch on the puck,” said Engstrom. “She was one of the leading scorers on her team and in that league last year. Darragh Browne should bring some speed for us.”

Altiman had 13 goals and eight assists in 40 games for the London Devilettes in the Ontario Women’s Hockey League.

Podewell highlighted her senior year by scoring three goals and adding an assist in four games during the USA Under 19 nationals.

She played for the Chicago Mission.

Browne notched nine goals and 18 assists in 37 games for the Burlington Barracudas in the OWHL.

The incoming defensemen also have offensive components in their games.

Rucinski racked up 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points in 25 games for Benilde-St. Margaret’s prep school in Minnesota.

Fong had six goals and 14 assists in 41 games for the Whitby Wolves in the OWHL. Sandilands had four goals and 18 assists in 40 games for Etobicoke Dolphins in the OWHL

Dubuc tallied five goals and 14 assists in 26 games for Edina High School.

“Sade was with the Canadian U-18 national team last summer, Lulu has been in the development program for USA Hockey, and Paige is a big, skilled defenseman,” said Engstrom.

Engstrom noted that she may have one of the biggest defense corps in the country with all but one of her blue-liners standing at least 5-foot-7. Junior Sophia Johnson is 5-foot-11 and Fong is 5-10.

Engstrom pointed out that the Black Bears finished strong a year ago, going 3-1-2 in their last six games including an impressive performance in a 4-3 loss at third seed Boston College in the Hockey East quarterfinals, and that they are looking to build on that this coming season.