A pair of forwards from the Nipissing Lakers varsity women's hockey team are heading overseas to represent Team Canada.
North Bay products Malory Dominico and Madison Desmarais were part of the 21 student athletes named who will wear the maple leaf in Women’s Hockey at the 2025 FISU Winter World University Games in Torino, Italy.
The local duo is part of a Lakers squad that finished the first half of the season 11-2-0-1 and first in the OUA East.
Desmarais has netted two goals and added seven assists for nine point in 13 games.
Through the same 13 games, Dominico has nine goals along with seven assists good for 16 points.
Malory Dominico's sister and former Lakers star Maria Dominico won a gold medal with Team Canada at the event held in Lake Placid, New York in 2023.
"I am extremely honoured and excited to be chosen to represent Canada at the upcoming FISU games in Italy," said Dominico on social media.
"Truly a dream come true."
Led by Head Coach Kelly Paton (Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks), the roster is the picture of balance, comprised of five players from the Canada West conference, six from the OUA, five from the RSEQ, and five from the AUS.
“We are excited to announce the group of student-athletes who will represent Canada at the upcoming 2025 FISU Winter World University Games," said Paton.
"We are incredibly fortunate to build a team from such a high caliber pool of talent within USPORTS, which reflects the strength of women's hockey in Canada. As a staff, we've worked to build a vision that supports a fast, physical style of play and we look forward to seeing these athletes carry that into our team game in Italy. Representing Canada on the international stage is a tremendous honour, and we are confident our group will wear the maple leaf with great pride and passion.”
The 32nd edition of the FISU Games is set for January 13-23, with the Women’s hockey event running from January 12-22 and all games being played in Torino.
