Oct 17, 2009 - 11:30 AM

By Brian McNair

HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- It was a matter of addition by subtraction that caused Whitney Woodcox to choose Dartmouth College as her place to ply her trade as a student-athlete for the next few years.

That is, when she contemplated reasons not to head to the Ivy League institution to play goal for its NCAA Division 1 hockey team, she came up as empty as many a shooter has against her on the ice.

"It just felt like home," she said, referring to her first visit to New Hampshire to see the school and meet the team. "All the other ones had this wrong or that wrong, but Dartmouth, there's nothing that I don't like about it."

Woodcox, an 18-year-old graduate of O'Neill Collegiate in Oshawa, said the coaching staff, led by Mark Hudak, left her inspired to play for the Big Green, which heads into the season as the ninth-ranked team in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine women's college hockey poll.

"Definitely, the coaching staff was very welcoming and they each have their own personalities that they bring to the team," she said. "It just felt like a nice family and all the girls were really nice."

As a freshman goalie on a roster that includes two seniors at the same position, Woodcox might need to bide her time before getting the nod from the coach.

But, with a resumé that includes leading the Whitby Wolves midget team to a provincial silver medal last year and the O'Neill Redhawks to a pair of LOSSA titles, she's not ruling out taking the No. 1 job.

"They've said that I could be the starter. I just have to work for my spot and prove that I should be the starter."

Woodcox was a multi-sport athlete during high school, also playing badminton, basketball, track and field, field hockey and softball. She hopes her studies lead her to a career as a lawyer or psychologist.

Dartmouth is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution and, with an enrollment of 5,848, is the smallest school in the Ivy League.

The hockey team opens its season Oct. 23 with an exhibition matchup against McGill. The regular season gets underway Oct. 30 at Cornell.