Lutz should ring up goals playing with Prairie Fire
Winnipeg Free Press - October 10, 2008
MANITOBA'S Prairie Fire of the National Ringette League wasted no time snapping up 21-year-old forward Ashley Lutz when the Manitoba Jets passed on her after picking her up in the supplemental draft.
Lutz played with the Edmonton Edge last season but has returned to Winnipeg, and Prairie Fire is hoping she provides the edge they require this season.
"I got a job with the federal government in January, so I had to move home," said Lutz. "I was actually commuting last year with my Edmonton team. I played my best two seasons there, and as a team we finished third in the Western Division and fifth at the nationals."
Last year Lutz had 24 goals and 19 assists in 24 games. She doesn't expect the move to Prairie Fire will be a drastic change.
"We have a lot of talent on the team this year, and I'm just trying to fit in and see where my place is. It's just a matter of seeing what works.
"I have played with some of the girls (Karen Feasby and Sheena MacDonald) back in Belle, and the chemistry is there. We know how each other plays, so I am confident that it will work out."
Lutz says it goes without question that she'll be giving everything she has to her new team, but still, "I think that it is going to be very emotional (when we play Edge the first time), but it'll be good. We'll go out there and do what we do best."
The Jets have all of last season's players returning, but have bolstered their offence by drafting forwards Hilari Chaput from Eastman Belles and Erin Hogg, who was released by Prairie Fire. They also picked up forward Carrie Nash, who played Belle for the Magic last year, but saw some time with the Jets as an affiliate player.
Both Manitoba teams open the regular season on Oct. 25 and 26 when they take on the Saskatoon Wild for a pair of games at Varsity View Sportsplex. The first regular-season matchup between the Jets and Prairie Fire is Nov. 10 at a site still to be decided.
allan.besson@freepress.mb.ca
Winnipeg Free Press – October 10, 2008
