Alaina Winther '26 Recruiting Profile

I remember my mother bringing me to the hockey rink at the age of 5 to sign my brother up for a learn to skate.  While she was filling out the forms for him, I said, "I want to play too!".  That is when my love of hockey began.  I remember scoring my first goal during my mite season.  For my first year of squirts, the Troy-Albany Ice Cats, a tier 2 girls hockey team,  offered me a place on their 12 u team.  I was the youngest player on the team at the time.  I decided I wanted to give goalie a try and the coaches were supportive of this, so supportive that I was asked to be a goaltender for a game in a very short time.  From the first time I put the gear on, I knew I was meant to be an ice hockey goalie.  My mother still tells the story of me sleeping with my very first goalie glove like a teddy bear.  Now in my teens and starting high school, I continue with the same love and passion I started with for ice hockey and the goaltender position.  I am steadfast, focused and in the zone during games and have fun with a focus on comaraderie on and off the ice.  I may be described as coy by friends and teammates off the ice, but once I put the equipment on I assume a leadership role on the ice given my perspective of the game encouraging my teammates and driving play excellence.

My plan is to attend college with the hopes of being able to achieve academic excellence while playing the sport I love most, ice hockey.