RIDGEBACKS ADD OHL VETERAN TO LINE-UP
"We are very happy to be adding Luke to our line-up," said Muylaert. "Luke is a big body adding size and muscle to our forward position. He captained the Brantford Eagles this season and was a key component of their power play and penalty kill units. We think Luke has a ton of untapped potential and will develop into a dominant university hockey player during his tenure here at UOIT."
Van Moerkerke (Tillsonburg, Ont.) comes to UOIT after a successful junior career. He split time between the London Knights and Brampton Battalion playing in the OHL from 2006 to 2009. In total, he played in 102 games, racking up 131 penalty minutes. Van Moerkerke was known across the league as a gritty forward with a lot of physical presence.
During the 2008-09 season, Van Moerkerke joined Brantford of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League and had an immediate impact on the team as the Eagles went on to win the 2009 Sutherland Cup. In 2009-10, Van Moerkerke guided the Eagles back to the Sutherland Cup finals. The 6'4 forward finished his OPJHL career with 80 games played, 34 goals, 47 assists and 134 penalty minutes during the regular season.
Van Moerkerke has been accepted to UOIT on a scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year and eagerly waiting for training camp to begin in September.
A QUICK LOOK AT LUKE VAN MOERKERKE
Position: Left wing
Height: 6'4
Weight: 225
Shoots: Left
Hometown: Tillsonburg, Ont.
2009/10 STATISTICS
GP: 48
Goals: 18
Assists: 20
Points: 38
PIM: 61
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks