The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team has selected senior defenseman Kirsten Padalis as team captain, while fellow seniors Brooke Webster and Alex Moore will be assistant captains for the 2016-17 season.

Padalis has played in all 109 of the Saints' games in the last three years, scoring 12 goals and adding 22 assists from the blue line. Webster, who has also played in every game over the past three years, finished tied for second in ECAC Hockey in assists last year and is just eight points away from reaching 100 for her career. Moore has played in 103 games as a defenseman over the last three seasons, scoring 11 goals and adding 21 assists for 32 career points. She led the team with 44 penalty minutes in 2016-17.

This season will be a bit of a contrast from last season for the Saints. The team has just three seniors on the roster this year, while nine players were playing their final season for the Saints last year. Those roster spots have been filled by eight first-year players who figure to get plenty of ice time this season.

"Our senior leadership will play a huge role at the beginning of the season because of the number of newcomers we have this season," said head coach Chris Wells '92. "Even though we graduated nine seniors last year, we still have plenty of experience to lead the way."

The Saints, who defeated Princeton in a thrilling three-game series to advance to the ECAC Hockey semifinals in 2016, had a strong second half last year, losing just six games after Dec. 5; one of those losses was a tight 2-1 decision to top-seeded Quinnipiac in the ECAC Hockey semifinals. 

"The last couple of seasons we've struggled a bit out of the gate but have put it together later in the season," said Wells, who enters his ninth year behind the bench for the Saints. "This year we're going to try to flip the switch right at the start."

The Saints open the season with a scrimmage against McGill University at noon on Saturday, September 24. They will face Northeastern in a pair of non-league games the following weekend in Boston, then host Clarkson in a non-league contest in their home opener at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7 at Appleton Arena before facing the Golden Knights at Cheel Arena the following day.

"The first four games will give us a good indication of what we'll be good at and where we'll have to make some improvements," said Wells. "Starting off the season playing back-to-back games against two teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament will be a great early season test for us."

Four of the Saints' top-five scorers return, with Webster leading the team with 12 goals and 25 assists for 37 points. Junior Kennedy Marchment was second in scoring for the Saints (11 goals, 18 assists, 29 points), while Hannah Miller (11-14-25) was fourth and Justine Reyes (12-8-20) was fifth.

Sophomore goaltender Grace Harrison started 19 games last year, posting a .916 save percentage and a 2.14 goals against average. Fellow sophomore Sonjia Shelly started 10 games games and posted a .901 save percentage and a 2.86 GAA, while Brooke Wolejko started nine games and had a .880 save percentage and a 2.45 GAA.

After the home-and-home series with Clarkson, the Saints will face the University of Vermont in a home-and-home series on Oct. 21-22, Concordia University on Oct. 25, and will once again face Penn State on back-to-back days on the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving, this time on the road, with just one day off after league games at Yale and Brown. The team plays Clarkson in a home-and-home on Dec. 1 and Dec. 3, then takes a month off for finals and the holidays.

"We really look at the season as two separate seasons," said Wells. "We'll still practice and be working on things, but we've found that an extended break helps the team focus as we get into the meat of the league schedule."

St. Lawrence hosts Carleton in a non-league game to start 2017, then will face Mercyhurst in a pair of games at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the practice facility for the Washington Capitals, on Jan. 7-8, before closing the season with six consecutive ECAC Hockey weekends.

Tickets to all St. Lawrence women's hockey home games are free of charge, thanks to a sponsorship by North Country Savings Bank. See the women's hockey schedule for complete information on game dates and times.