TROY, N.Y. - While the 2020-21 season is not yet underway, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's ice hockey roster has been established and the squad includes a group of 28 student-athletes. Head coach Bryan Vines and assistants coaches Marc Cavosie '03 and Tara Connelly have compiled a team that consists of 11 in their first years, natives of four different countries and 14 majors.

Below is information about the team makeup as well as notes about the squad and individual student-athletes:

Class Years: 4 in Class of 2021 ... 4 in Class of 2022 ... 9 in Class of 2023 ... 11 in Class of 2024

Natives Of: Canada (11), Czech Republic (1), Denmark (1) and United States (15)

Majoring In: Aerospace Engineering (1), Biology (3), Biological Neuroscience (1), Biomedical Engineering (5), Business Analytics (1), Business and Management (8), Chemistry (1), Communication, Media, and Design (1), Design, Innovation, and Society (1), Electrical Engineering (1), Environmental Engineering (1), Industrial and Management Engineering (2), Mechanical Engineering (1) and Psychological Science (1)

• Team GPA in spring 2020 was 3.56 (24 student-athletes) ... Cumulative GPA was 3.17
• As a team the Engineers are committed to volunteerism, in particular with Girls Inc. and Troy City Schools.
• Prior to attending Rensselaer, sophomore Amanda Rampado (Stoney Creek, ON / Stoney Creek Sabres) competed for Team Ontario at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta.
• Emilie Venne (Greely, ON / Northwood School) and Majda Erbenova (Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic / Northwood School) were teammates at the Northwood School last season.
• Venne's sister is a hockey player at Hamilton and won the team MVP for the 2018-2019 season. Their brother was All-NEC in the mile and 1500 at St. Francis in Pennsylvania, where he was the NEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and Red Flash Inspiration Award recipient.
• Erbenova helped start a non-profit project to fulfill senior citizens free time with activities (seminars, trips). Her group achieved the Most Valuable Project in Czech.
• Senior Jenn Gregg (Altamont, NY / Troy Albany Ice Cats) interned with Albany Molecular Research - GMP and Chemical Development. Her father has a graduate degree from Rensselaer.
• MJ Alexander's (Deerfield, IL / Chicago Young Americans) played hockey at Bowdoin.
• Maddy Papineau's (Sudbury, ON / Oakville Hornets) first language is French. Her father played junior hockey in Ottawa and Detroit.
• Taylor Larsen's (Bolton, ON / Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) father played varsity volleyball at Brock University; her mother was a varsity figure skater at Brock University and a professional with Disney on Ice; her grandfather was drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1961 after playing juniors with Bobby Orr; Another grandfather was drafted by Hamilton of the CFL and later became the swim coach for the University of British Columbia.
• Sophomore Taylor Zahirnyi (Newtown, PA / New Jersey Colonials) had a social media internship. She has volunteered teaching kids from inner city Trenton to skate for a semester, at the Big Red Race and she taught girls to read in Troy's intermediate schools.
• Lilli Friis-Hansen (Lyngby, Denmark / Gentofte) played for the Danish U18 National Team in 2017 and 2018. She earned the IIHF U18 Group 1B Best Forward.
• Ellie Kaiser (Westmont, IL / Chicago Mission 19U) participated in the USA Luge development camp.
• Senior Lauren Severson (Rockford, IL / Madison Capitals) did research for Rensselaer in which she evaluated tweets and emotions behind Tweets that have to do with COVID-19 and wearing masks. She wrote blog posts on her findings and made a helpful app to guide the research. Her brothers played junior hockey in the USHL and NAHL, respectively.
• Riena Jahnke (Allen, TX / Dallas Stars U19) was born in Tokyo and played high school hockey in Texas. She spent a year in Japan qualifying for the national team.
• Meagan Byrum (Potomac, MD / Washington Pride 19U) is the first person in her immediate family (2 parents, 2 siblings) not to attend Miami University. Her mother swam there and was good enough to qualify for the Olympic Trials.
• Byrum and Julia Blitz (Potomac, MD / Washington Pride 19U) are both from Potomac, Maryland, and both played for the Washington Pride.
• Teeghan Dalby (Burlington, ON / Stoney Creek Sabres) and Sarah Bukvic (Burlington, ON / Stoney Creek Sabres) are both sophomores from Burlington, Ontario, who played for Stoney Creek.
• Bukvic's father played football at the University of Guelph.
• Maddie Burnett's (London, ON / Bluewater Hawks) played football at the Universityof Windsor and her mother was a synchronized figure skating champion in Canada.
• Mikayla Capelle (Dawson Creek, BC / Okanagan Hockey Academy) has interned for AltaGas, a gas plant. Her brother is a professional Motocross rider.
• Junior Emma Hicks (Burlington, ON / Etobicoke Jr. Dolphins) has been an administration associate at Assante Wealth Management.
• Forward Sara Bayne (Logan, UT / Honeybaked U19) started skating while in Sweden, learned to play hockey in Utah (where she was born) and developed her game in Michigan.

On attending Rensselaer:
"I chose RPI because as soon as I stepped on campus the coaches and team gave me a sense of family and I knew that it was something I would like to be a part of. While representing RPI at a high athletic level it also gives me the opportunity to study business and management at a nationally-ranked institute. It is a beautiful campus with an incredible rink and amazing people." - Emma Hicks (June 2018)

"The math/science focus in their curriculum and impressive business school are two of the first reasons I chose RPI. I also loved the coaching staff of the hockey team, their values, and what they had to offer. I loved the team and their culture." - Taylor Zahirnyi (August 2020)

"The exceptional academics at Rensselaer was a driving factor in my decision to attend. This, in combination with the small, close-knit campus community, and athletic opportunities, I knew Rensselaer was the place I wanted to learn and grow as both a student and an athlete. - Amanda Rampado (August 2020)

"I wanted to attend a school that would challenge me both academically and athletically. I knew by attending a school such as RPI I would continue to be pushed to be the best version of me." - Teeghan Dalby (August 2020)

"I wanted to attend Rensselaer because I wanted to play hockey and get a great education." - Lauren Severson (August 2020)

Benefits of undergraduate community:
"Rensselaer provides an abundant amount of support systems for the undergraduate community, which helps in all aspects of college life, especially academics. This alongside the supportive culture of professors, advisors and fellow students truly allows one to succeed." - Amanda Rampado (August 2020)

"It truly feels like a second home and is such a welcoming community. Everyone around you is striving to be the best and it pushes you to be that much better." - Teeghan Dalby (August 2020)

"Being a part of the psychological science major at RPI is such a blessing. The professors are outstanding and helpful whenever you need it! I found it easy to talk to my peers and everyone on campus." - Maddy Peterson (August 2020)