Ann Howard has been going through some old memorabilia in preparation for her daughter Brittany’s senior day. The old newspaper clippings remind her of what she knew as both a parent of a star player and her sometimes-coach: Howard had a feel for the game.
“They just kind of talked about, they’d win 2-1 and she’d score the winning goal,” Ann Howard said of 10-year-old Brittany. “She was a really tiny kid at the time, but she had that knack for being in the right place at the right time.”
Brittany Howard, now a redshirt senior forward on the Robert Morris women’s hockey team, has been named this year’s Dapper Dan Sportswoman of the Year. Howard, who leads the College Hockey America conference in points and assists and ranks second in goals, will receive her award Feb. 21 at the 82nd annual Dapper Dan Dinner and Sports Auction at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
“Definitely kind of shocked, speechless,” Howard said. “I didn’t know what to say. To this day I really don’t know what to say.”
That Howard became one of North America’s elite collegiate players is not shocking considering her upbringing. Her parents, Ann and Scott, are high school teachers who both played and coached hockey. She played soccer with her twin brother, Cody, when she would compete on the boys’ teams and sometimes teamed with her sister, Brooke, on the ice.
“She’d be on my bench when I was coaching basketball, and you could always see her mind thinking about, ‘What if they did this or what if they did that?’ ” Ann Howard said. “She just had such a great little mind for the game, whether it was soccer or hockey or basketball. That was really unique, I always thought, from the time she was a little kid.”
Howard played with the London Junior Devilettes in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League during high school from 2009 to ’13. She played with the juniors as a sophomore but wasn’t playing as much the following season. That’s the year she committed to Robert Morris; after taking some unofficial visits, including to Penn State, she liked the size, the coach the proximity to her hometown of St. Thomas, Ontario.
“We’re definitely happy that she chose Robert Morris because during that season of her senior year she was just phenomenal in the league,” Colonials coach Paul Colontino said.
Howard led the nation’s rookie class in points and assists her freshman year. She missed all but two games of her sophomore year because of knee surgery. The following season, she led the conference in points and assists and tied for third in game-winning goals.
“I vividly remember being kind of amazed because, wow, this girl sat a whole year out and she’s coming out playing like she didn’t miss a beat,” senior forward and captain Amanda Pantaleo said. “She’s always kind of been a player like that.”
Said Colontino: “She does play every practice like it’s a game. It’s pretty interesting and it takes a toll, I think, in all honesty. It takes a toll on her because it’s a hard way to do things. A lot of people just can’t keep up that pace. But on the flip side, the benefits that she’s gotten from it, she’s literally a dominant player, one of the most dominant players in the country.”
This means she gets maintenance days, like the one she got Wednesday; she spent practice doing homework in a hall above the Robert Morris Island Sports Center rink. But she prepares year-round. While home for the summer, she trains with Toronto Maple Leafs skill development consultant Mike Ellis — “Him working with [head coach] Mike Babcock, obviously one of the best coaches in the game, he brings back a lot of his experiences with the Leafs,” she said — and personal trainer Scott Payton, who works with San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton.
The goals and assists speak for themselves, but Colontino credits Howard for her versatility. She blocks shot and kills penalties in addition to her offensive duties, and in her junior year the Colonials won the CHA title and earned their their first NCAA tournament berth.
“If you’re digging a hole, you’re putting in a pool, it’s pretty hard to do by yourself,” Colontino said. “But when your buddy rolls up with a backhoe, you feel real confident that you’re going to get the job done quickly. That’s that type of confidence that Brit brings to her teammates.”
The Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League drafted Howard 10th overall this year. She hasn’t signed with them yet — she has other offers — but she said she will play somewhere after graduation.
“It was surreal,” she said. “I honestly was speechless yet again.”
Dapper Dan ticket information: https://dapperdan18.auction-bid.org/microsite/
First Published: January 28, 2018, 11:00 a.m.
