(Jan 9, 2021 Aurora, Ontario) –
The Central York Girls Hockey Association is pleased to announce that their
2020/21 Jr Panther, Abby Warriner, has committed to play USports OUA Women’s
Hockey for the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury Ontario for the 2021-22 season.
Abby was an integral part of Central York Panthers U18AA’s successful 2019/20 regular season campaign, good for second place in the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League’s highly competitive Central Division. Under her competitive influence, her team had the upper hand in the third round of the playoffs against the regular season division champion Brampton Canadette’s when the season ended prematurely. Abby has continued to be an outstanding player at the Jr level in 2020-21. In her limited games so far this season she has been a dominant force on the ice shift in and shift out. Abby exemplifies what being a Panther is all about. Abby is always positive, supportive and highly inclusive of her teammates. She leads by example through her relentless work ethic in support of her team’s mission.
“I have been playing Panther hockey since I was 7 years old and I am extremely excited to have reached this point while being a Panther. I am really looking forward to joining the Laurentian Voyageurs this coming fall. The Panther has given me great coaches over the years that have all prepared me for these next steps. I am grateful for the opportunities that being a Panther has provided me to improve my skills, make lifelong friends and have a lot of fun along the way” commented Abby Warriner.
Abby is known for her elite competitive nature but she has become so much more than that over the past few years. Her skating ability has made her one of the quickest players in the entire PWHL. Abby has been working hard at her offensive game and it has paid dividends over the past two years as her offensive stats continue to climb at an alarming rate. She is still relied upon to shutdown the top players in the PWHL and has excelled at that part of her game for many years.
Stacey Colarossi is the Head Coach for the Laurentian Voyageurs and she is ecstatic about getting Abby. “We are really looking forward to adding Abby to our lineup. She is a versatile forward who can excel at wing or down the middle of the ice for us. She has good size, skates well, and plays with a high hockey IQ”.
Central York’s Jr Coach Steve Dempsey is not surprised by Abby’s success. “Abby is a great example of someone who works hard and does all the little things right and gets rewarded. I started noticing Abby a few years ago as she was always the hardest working player on the ice. But as time went on she worked on her offensive skills and then you couldn’t stop watching her. She is the type of player that makes you watch her when she is on the ice because she is always making a positive impact on the ice. But this past year I have had the pleasure of getting to know the person and I feel so lucky to have her on our team. Although I am very happy for Abby I am also sad because you don’t replace a player like Abby. She brings so much to our team both on and off the ice. Laurentian is very lucky.”