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| Laura Moran (in purple) playing for Oxford against Widnes at the Bristol Tournament, seen with Wild's Victoria Connelly (#88) (Photo by Flyfifer Photography) |
The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team have a new player to boost their squad for the forthcoming 2023/24 WNIHL North season, as well as the return of a familiar face.
Laura Moran has played for the Oxford Midnight Stars in Division 2 South for the past 8 years and has over 70 WNIHL matches under her belt. In that time she contributed 4 goals and 11 assists from her defensive role and notched up 42 penalty minutes.
Moran also played University hockey for 4 seasons with the UAE (University Of East Anglia) Avalanche, scoring 1+2 in 18 games.
Talking about her move to the Wild women, Laura said: “I can’t wait to get this season started with Widnes! I was sad to be leaving Oxford at the end of last season after 8 years but Widnes have been so welcoming. I’m looking forward to getting to know all the girls more and seeing how much we can achieve on the ice this year!”
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| Jemma Brown (Photo by Geoff White) |
In that time she played 38 league and challenge matches scoring 6 goals and 8 assists and was a member of the Wild women’s team that won the Division 1 North title in 2019/20.
Before joining Widnes, Jemma had played for the Kingston Diamonds in the Women’s Premier League as well as junior hockey for Blackburn and Trafford and has over 90 competitive games to her record.
She said of her return to the Wild women’s team: “I am incredibly excited to be returning back to playing for the women after having a season off. After seeing how well the team performed last season, I am excited to see how well the team performs this season.”
“I’m sure it will be an amazing season with new team members and some very experienced players with lots of fun and exciting memories for us all to remember as a team.”
Three more players from last season’s squad have also returned to the Wild women for the new campaign.
Ontario-born Lise Gillen brings a wealth of experience having played 3 seasons for the Guildford Lightning in the Womens’ Elite League, as well as playing in her native Canada. She played 10 games for Widnes last season, scoring 2 goals and 4 assists
Victoria Connelly also played 10 games for Widnes last season, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists she is also a former Guildford Lightning Elite player, previously playing for the Bracknell Fire Bees and, in total, has made over 50 WNIHL appearances.
Jennifer Hickey joined the Wild women for the 2021/22 and has played in all 30 games that the team have played since then. She has contributed 3 goals and 4 assists and picked up just 4 penalty minutes.
Hickey also plays University hockey for the Manchester Metros, scoring 6+9 in 28 games over two seasons.
The DMUK Widnes Wild women play their first game of the new season on Sunday 1st October when they take on the Grimsby Wolves at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.
