The women's hockey team at St. Thomas University is bolstering the 2017-2018 lineup with the addition of two talented forwards and a skilled blue liner.

Olivia Reid, of Aurora, ON, Leah Galati, of Mississauga, ON, and Margarita Dorofeeva, of Moscow, Russia, have committed to join the Tommies on the ice this fall.

Dorofeeva, a forward coming out of King's Edgehill Prep School in Nova Scotia, was a member of the Russian U18 National Team that competed at the 2016 and 2017 IIHF Women's World Championships. A quick and skilled athlete, Dorofeeva will add to the Tommies' already established offensive unit.

"Rita will put pressure on defenders," Tommies head coach Peter Murphy said. "Her ability to read the play and make appropriate decisions makes her a scoring threat. She's going to add to our depth on offense and will be a key contributor going forward."

Dorofeeva is looking forward to joining the Tommies and becoming part of the campus community, which she said suits her goals.

"The athletics as well as the academic programs at St. Thomas suit my objectives and will allow me to excel not only as a hockey player, but as a person as well."

Joining Dorofeeva up front for the Tommies is Reid, a forward from the Leaside Wildcats of the Provincial Women's Hockey League. In 37 games this season, the future Tommie netted seven goals and set up 13 more. Although there's an offensive flair to her game, Murphy is most interested in her skills on the penalty kill.

"She is a very strong penalty killer. After losing two of our key penalty killers from last year, she will help to fill that role but will definitely make any line she is on better offensively," he said. "She is a great two-way player and is tenacious on the puck."

On top of continuing her athletic career, Reid decided on St. Thomas because of the small campus and the environment it creates for learning.

"I feel St. Thomas is the best school for me to develop as a person, both on and off the ice," she said. "It has strong academics, a great hockey program, and I love that it's a small school."

Rounding out the new recruits is Galati, a defensive specialist from the bronze-medal winning Mississauga Chiefs of the Provincial Women's Hockey League. Her size and skill give her the potential to become a great defender at the U SPORTS level.

"In watching her while recruiting you could just see she has all the tools," Murphy said. "She has a big shot and makes a solid first pass, which helps kick start every teams' offense. We expect her to transition very well to the Atlantic University Sport conference."

Galati said there a many reasons she chose St. Thomas, but the most important factors were the academic programs and the opportunity to play for the Tommies.

"I know I've chosen the university that will invest in me as a player and as a student," she said. "In return, that will inspire me to invest all my efforts into the university."

The Tommies are coming off a difficult season that saw them finish second in the league standings, but fall in the best-of-three conference semi-final series against the St. Francis Xavier X-Women.

Dorofeeva, Reid, and Galati are the first new additions to be announced by the STU squad.