The Nipissing Lakers have received a verbal commitment from Danika Ranger, a local goalie from Astorville, who led the Sudbury Lady Wolves to an ESSO Cup championship this past season, for the fall of 2017.
The Ecole Secondaire Algonquin in North Bay and will be making the jump to the Durham West Jr. Lightning of the PWHL for the 2015-16 season. Ranger also just returned for a Team Ontario camp as she hopes to be named a member of the provincial squad for the World Women's Under-18 Championship which takes place this fall in Hunstville.
See that story here: http://www.baytoday.ca/content/sports/details.asp?c=81297
Despite potential opportunities at higher profile NCAA schools, the talented goalie feels joining the Lakers is the right choice.
“I’m very excited. It’s a home team, I’ve been watching them since they started and I knew Turk (Turcotte) before as well. He’s a great coach and being close to home will be a huge advantage for me,” she said.
Ranger is looking towards the nursing program at Nipissing and because it has a tough workload, she said it made a lot of sense to stay in her hometown and play, which will allow her to manage her time better, she feels.
“School plus hockey is easier at home. It will be easier to handle it all,” she explained.
Turcotte, who has been known to push for local girls to play CIS at home, is thrilled to have reached out to Ranger and have her respond so positively. He said getting the verbal agreement is big for his program.
“Our goal here is to build one of the top programs in the country. In order to do so you have to stay with the pack when it comes to recruiting, and as it stands now some of the girls we are talking to are in grade 9 and 10,” Turcotte said.
Ranger explained that her style, while it has been successful, is improving everyday and facing pressure situations have not only made her a better goalie, but given her the mindset and attitude to be successful no matter what she’s facing.
“I am an athletic goalie and I’ll do anything to make the save. I’m not super technical, but I’m working on it and I’m very focussed on my game, regardless of the game or situation. My strengths are keeping things calm and being relaxed even in tough situations,” she said.
And she said her next step, joining the Lightning, will present a few more challenges, but she’s looking forward to them.
“It’s definitely going to help. I had a glimpse of the speed, shots and quality of play and I’ve very excited about playing there. It should help my development,” she said, adding she’ll have to adjust to a few things.
“The biggest challenge will be setting a new routine. I’ll be away from home and playing with new players and new teammates. Plus it will be new opponents, so I’ll just have to push myself to the limit to play well and be successful.”
Despite Ranger taking the next step for the upcoming season, Turcotte is very confident she has the ability to be successful at that level.
“Having the opportunity to play for Durham West (PWHL) this season will allow Danika to continue facing some of the top players in the country. I am very confident that she will continue her progression towards being a top goalie in the country,” he said.
“I have been watching Danika for a few years now. She continues to improve and is a proven winner. She has the ability and the dedication to be a top goaltender in the entire country. Danika is very athletic and has tremendous size. Danika had many options and we are thrilled that she made the commitment to our program.”
Both Ranger and Turcotte feel that the pressure she has faced in the past will serve her well in the future and if she’s able to duplicate the success she’s experienced in the past few seasons with Durham West, she’ll come to the Lakers extremely confident and ready for the OUA/CIS.
“I am confident that by the time Danika begins her career at Nipissing she will be accustomed to pressure situations and playing in big games. I had the opportunity to watch her at Provincials and at Nationals last year and she handled all of that very well as a young goalie,” Turcotte said.
Ranger already has a goal in mind when she begins at Nipissing in two seasons.
“At Nipissing, I will be striving to become the number one goalie. The goal will be helping the team get to the playoffs and winning as much as possible every year,” she said.
Turcotte has a goal and philosophy as a head coach of a university women’s hockey program.
“Danika is the first piece of the puzzle. We are continuously communicating with other top players, some local and some from across the country. My ultimate goal as a coach is to not only be a CIS national champion, but more to give my players the best possible chance of fulfilling their hockey dreams,” Turcotte said.
“I am doing everything I can to make this a reality.”
