ITHACA, N.Y. — With the start of the 2016-17 regular season just two weeks away, the women's hockey team has announced that senior forward Kaitlin Doering and sophomore defenseman Micah Hart will serve as captains.

Doering is coming off of a 2015-16 season in which she set a career high with 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists. She tied a program record for most shorthanded goals in a season with three, with the third serving as the game-winner in a 1-0 shutout of Dartmouth in the final weekend of the regular season. Doering, who spent much of the season centering the team's top line, went on a five-game point streak from Nov. 20 to Dec. 4, recording a goal and six assists over that span.

Hart led all Big Red defensemen last year with 18 points on one goal and 17 assists, finished the season with six multi-point outings and was second on the team with 56 blocked shots. At the conclusion of her rookie campaign, she was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team and was an All-Ivy Honorable Mention. Hart, who was the only current ECAC player selected for the Canada National Women's Team Fall Festival in September, was recently named to the preseason All-ECAC team.

Hart is just the fourth sophomore to don a letter in program history and the second to serve as a captain. Amber Overguard was an assistant captain during the 2008-09 and Janna Dewar wore an "A" during the 1995 season while Molly Brown captained the Big Red during her 1983 sophomore season.

Cornell begins play on Friday, Oct. 14, with an exhibition game against Carleton University at 6 p.m. followed by the annual Red/White game on Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m.. The season begins in earnest the following weekend when the Big Red will welcome Mercyhurst to Lynah Rink for a pair of home games on Oct. 21 and 22.