Five to Wear Letters for Women’s Hockey as Captains 

BOSTON – In its fourth varsity season, Suffolk women's hockey has a five-member leadership unit as head coach Taylor Wasylk announced Shana Cote and Madison Duff will return to their post as co-captains, while Payton Dockus and Julia Volpe are back as assistants along with Maddy Burton.  

"I am tremendously proud to announce these five as our captains for this coming season," Wasylk said. "Individually they bring passion, talent and a ton of energy to our locker room and bench. As a group, they hold a team first attitude and a deep drive to make our program the best it can possibly be. I am excited to see them take the reins this season and lead our team to unprecedented heights."  

The five some is the largest captain's contingent in Suffolk women's hockey history as just the quartet of Cote, Duff, Dockus and Volpe wrote their names in the Rams' record book as the program's inaugural captains a year ago.  

Four members of the group – Cote, Dockus, Duff and Volpe – are members of Wasylk's first-ever recruiting class back in 2018-19 and have been crucial components to Suffolk success ever since. Burton, meanwhile, made her name known on the squad and by opponents since transferring to a blue-and-gold sweater back in 2019-20. 

Duff, a Novi, Michigan native, has skated in all every single one of Suffolk's 62 games at the blue line. The defender has assembled a 25-point stat line on four goals and 21 assists. As a freshman, the accounting major, earned a spot on the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) second and rookie teams, respectively.  

Dockus entered the program as a defensive forward and slowly trickled to a full-time defender, which is where she plans to play out her collegiate career. The St. Clair Shores, Michigan local has produced 18 points on eight goals and 10 handouts in 62 outings. 

Burton, who started her college playing days at Merrimack, skated to All-NEHC Second-Team recognition the first season she transferred to Suffolk in 2019-20. In her short time with the Rams, the Aurora, Illinois product has amassed 30-plus points on 14 goals and 19 assists.

Cote has been a constant on Suffolk's line sheet from the get go with 20-plus points in each regular-season. The forward from Broomfield, Colorado, has found the back of the net 23 times, six of which have pushed the blue-and-gold to victory. To go along with her goals, the computer science major has set-up 30 assists for 53 career points, good for second all-time in the Rams' record books. She has been recognized on the conference level multiple times highlighted by a NEHC Rookie of the Year nod in 2018-19 to go along with two all-conference nods and a spot on the NEHC's 2018-19 all-rookie team.  

Volpe, who calls Littleton, Colorado home, has seen action in 44 games over three campaigns. She had a standout season a year ago in the COVID condensed campaign with three goals and five assists. Overall, the computer science concentrator has racked up 20 points on seven goals and 13 helpers.  

Suffolk's fourth season gets underway next Friday, Oct. 29 when the Rams welcome Plymouth State to Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink for a 6 p.m. puck drop.