The Ridgebacks men’s hockey team has added six new players to their roster. Head coach Marlin Muylaert says he is looking forward to the upcoming season.

By Katie Richard
The Oshawa Express

The line-up tweaking has been completed.
The team, complete with six recent recruits, is ready for training camp.
Head Coach Marlin Muylaert is looking forward to the upcoming season, he says, especially with the addition of the new players, which will round out the Ridgebacks roster.
Joining the Ridgebacks Hockey Team are standout junior players Mike Montgomery, Derek Gregorack, Shawn Connors, Kevin George and Jake Rattie along with Norwich University transfer Ryan Oliver.
The six new recruits join an already impressive freshman class, which includes Brendan Wise, Luke VanMoerkerke and Matt Pasztor, the university says in a release.
“I believe our nine man recruiting class completes our four year plan,” says Muylaert. “For the first time in our young program’s history, we have very good solid depth in goal, on our backend and up front. I’m really excited to get the team together in a few short weeks to begin to build upon last year’s success.”
Oliver is finishing up his university career with UOIT after spending the 2008/2009 season in Northfield, Vermont.

As a freshman with the Cadets, the left wing player appeared in 18 games.
From 2004 to 2008, Oliver played in the OPJHL for the Wellington Dukes, Stouffville Spirit and Lindsay Muskies. Over four years, he played in 176 games racking up 118 points. In 2007/2008, he averaged a point per game with the Muskies. Oliver was drafted in the fifth round of the 2004 OHL draft by Sault Ste. Marie, the release says.
Montgomery, who is from Oshawa, was drafted in the third round of the OHL in 2003 by the Peterborough Petes.
The centre played for the Oshawa Legionnaires before joining Peterborough where he made his psychical presence known recording 212 penalty minutes in 63 games, while scoring 42 points.
Connors had plenty of success in his last two seasons with the Niagara Falls Canucks. The blueliner was one of the leagues top-scoring defenseman, recording 92 points in 95 games.
The Kingston Frontenacs, in the fourth round of the 2004 OHL draft, drafted the Chatham native.
Coach Muylaert was looking to add some size to the line-up by drafting 6’3” right winger Gregorack.

The Ajax native spent the 2008/2009 season with the Brampton Battalion and the Peterborough Petes in the OHL.
Fans of junior hockey in Lindsay have become familiar with the hard working style of George, as he spent the past three seasons with the Muskies.
The playmaking forward averaged 1.16 points per game in his career, scoring 36 goals in 2008/09 and 41 goals in 2009/2010, says the release.

Stepping in as a goalie, Rattie joins the Ridgebacks impressive goalie staff along with OPUA all-star Jason Guy and Jeff Dawson, the university says.
Rattie has played the last four seasons with the Niagara Falls Canucks. In 2009/2010, he appeared in 37 regular season games, posting a 18-9-2-3 record with a 3.41 goals against average.
Training camp for the Ridgebacks opens on Sept. 7 at the Campus Ice Centre. The team will open up preseason action on Friday, Sept. 17 against the Windsor Lancers. Game time at the Campus Ice Centre is 7:30 p.m.