Dalhousie Tigers women’s hockey head coach Sean Fraser is pleased to announce the commitment of Pursuit of Excellence (POE) Hockey Academy players Molly Box, Tyra Death and Ariana Pinchuk to the Tigers for the 2017-18 season.

A member of POE since 2013, defencewoman Molly Box had six goals and 22 assists in 42 games last season. An assistant captain, she helped lead them to a first-place Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) finish in the 2015-16 season and a second place finish this past season.

A native of Vernon, B.C., Box has represented Team BC the last two seasons, including helping them to a bronze medal finish at the 2016 National Women’s U18 championship in Regina, S.K. last November.

I’m really excited to be joining the Tigers,” says Box. “I’m looking forward to moving out East and to help the team succeed.”

Box will graduate from George Elliot Secondary School in June and will focus on studying business at Dalhousie.

“Molly is a solid defender and reads the play exceptionally well,” says Fraser. “She can play on all special teams and should add some valuable offence from the back end.”

Joining Box on the back end is Ariana Pinchuk.

A 5’9 defencewoman, Pinchuk played the 2016-17 season with POE, earning eight points in 32 games. Before joining POE, Pinchuk played two seasons with the Warner Warriors of the Junior Women’s Hockey League (JWHL), helping lead them to a league championship title in the 2014-15 season.

“I could not be more excited to be joining the Tigers this fall,” says Pinchuk. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of continuing to develop as a hockey player while continuing my education.”

The Sherwood Park, A.B. native will also graduate from George Elliott Secondary School this month and has enrolled in Dalhousie’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

“Ariana is a strong defender with great vision and a solid first pass,” says Fraser. “She is a strong skater which should make the transition to university hockey a smooth one.”  

Fellow Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy teammate Tyra Death will be joining Box and Pinchuk in Halifax this September.

Death has played with the Pursuit of Excellence team the last two years. A 5‘3 forward, she had nine goals and six assists in 45 games last season. Before joining the Pursuit of Excellence Academy, she played midget AAA hockey in her hometown of Grand Prairie, A.B. with the Peace Country Storm, receiving female athlete of the year honours from the Peace Country Rotary Club.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to play U SPORTS hockey,” says Death. “I’m looking forward to joining the Tigers and furthering my education at Dalhousie.”

An honour roll student, Death with graduate from George Elliot Secondary School this summer before beginning a Bachelor of Science in September.

“Tyra is relentless fore checker who makes life difficult for opposing defence,” says Fraser. “She is quick and a very solid 200-foot player. Tyra will be a great addition to our offence.”

The Tigers finished the 2016-17 season with a regular season record of 7-16-1 and fell 2-0 in their AUS quarter-final round series to StFX.