2022-23 AUS women's hockey major awards and all-stars announced
UNB REDS goaltender Kendra Woodland named most valuable player
(HALIFAX, N.S.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2022-23 AUS women's hockey all-stars and major award winners, as selected by the conference's eight head coaches.
Fourth-year UNB goaltender Kendra Woodland (Kamloops, B.C.) was chosen as the AUS most valuable player of the season.
Other AUS major award winners announced today were UPEI's Orianna MacNeil (Mabou, N.S.) who was named rookie of the year; Dalhousie's Izzy Weist (Torbay, N.L.) who was chosen as the most sportsmanlike player; UPEI's Lexie Murphy (Kensington, P.E.I.), who was named the top defensive player; Saint Mary's Eve LeBlanc (Petit-Rocher, N.B), who was awarded student-athlete community service honours; and STFX head coach Ben Berthiaume who is the AUS women's hockey coach of the year.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Kendra Woodland, UNB REDS
The Atlantic University Sport women's hockey most valuable player for the 2022-23 season is fourth-year goaltender Kendra Woodland of the UNB REDS.
A recreation and sports studies student hailing from Kamloops, B.C., Woodland led the conference and the country in save percentage (.960). Her dominant play between the posts helped to lead UNB to finish the regular season at the front of the pack with a 23-5 record, earning a first round bye in the playoffs.
She recorded 456 saves and a 1.10 goals against average, the second lowest goals against average in the AUS. She also led the AUS in win percentage (.824).
Woodland is the first player from the UNB REDS to win the conference MVP award; she was named AUS women's hockey rookie of the year for the 2018-19 season.
Now, she becomes the AUS nominee for the Brodrick Trophy for U SPORTS player of the year. The last AUS student-athlete to be named best in the country was STFX's Tyra Meropoulis in 2019-20.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Orianna MacNeil, UPEI Panthers
Orianna MacNeil from the UPEI Panthers is the AUS women's hockey rookie of the year.
A first-year kinesiology student from Mabou, N.S. playing defence for the Panthers, MacNeil was also named to the AUS All-Rookie Team and second team all-star lineup today.
She played in 27 games for the Panthers during the regular season, recording six goals, 10 assists and a +5 plus/minus rating. With a 17-11 record, UPEI enters the playoffs as a fourth seed.
MacNeil is the second Panthers player to be named AUS women's hockey rookie of the year. She follows Sydnee Baker, who earned the honour in 2016-17.
With this win, MacNeil will be the conference nominee for the U SPORTS rookie of the year award. Past AUS winners include Abby Lewis of STFX (2021-22), Alex Normore of STFX (2010-11) and Courtney Schriver of Saint Mary's (2004-05).
MOST SPORTSMANLIKE: Izzy Weist, Dalhousie Tigers
This season's Atlantic University Sport most sportsmanlike player is Izzy Weist of the Dalhousie Tigers. This award recognizes an individual who maintains the standards of fair play and treats those around her with respect at all times.
A third-year forward from Torbay, N.L., Weist appeared in all 28 regular season games for the Tigers, recording two goals and two assists. Dalhousie finished the 2022-23 season with a 13-15 record, entering the playoffs as a fifth seed.
"Izzy is the ultimate teammate and leader," say Tigers head coach, Troy Ryan. "Her passion, team-first mentality, and respect for the game have been instrumental in developing our team culture and ensuring a positive daily training environment of our program."
Weist's win marks the first time a Tiger has won this award.
TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Lexie Murphy, UPEI Panthers
The UPEI Panthers' Lexie Murphy has been named the 2022-23 AUS women's hockey top defensive player.
This award, established in 2016-17, is given annually to a skater who consistently excels in defensive aspects of the game and displays strong play in all areas of the ice individually and as part of their team's defensive tactics.
Murphy was selected as the winner of this award based on criteria such as faceoffs, blocked shots, forechecking, rush-zone defending, penalty killing and shutting down the opposition's top players.
A third-year forward from Kensington, P.E.I, she appeared in all 28 games for the Panthers, who entered playoffs as the fourth seed with a 17-11 record. Murphy had seven goals (three of which were game winners), eight assists and +18 plus/minus rating during the regular season.
She is the first player from UPEI to be named the league's top defensive player since the award's inception in 2016-17.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Eve LeBlanc, Saint Mary's Huskies
Saint Mary's forward Eve LeBlanc been awarded this year's Student-Athlete Community Service Award for her academic, athletic and community contributions.
A fourth-year psychology student from Petit-Rocher, N.B., LeBlanc played in 26 games for the Huskies during the 2022-23 regular season, recording one goal, 11 assists and a +12 plus/minus rating. A two-way defender, she led the team with an average of 23.15 minutes on the ice per game.
During all four seasons in the AUS, LeBlanc has earned Academic All-Canadian standing, currently sitting at a perfect 4.3 GPA for the 2022-23 academic year. She was the 2021 and 2023 recipient of the Student Leadership Recognition Award for Saint Mary's and has been named to the Faculty of Science's Dean's List three times.
LeBlanc is also a force in the community. For the past four years she has been a volunteer with Ronald McDonald House Charities, providing families in in need with warm meals and activities. She's also served as a program assistant for Chebucto Connections: Pathways to Education after school program, working with marginalized students. This year, LeBlanc also leant her time as a co-facilitator of a mental health series for Saint Mary's faculty and staff.
"Having just been accepted into UNB's doctorate program of clinical psychology, where the acceptance rate is 2% of all applicants, Eve is once again proving to herself and everyone that hard work always pays off," says Saint Mary's Huskies' head coach, Chris Larade. "She has been the absolute epitome of what this award stands for, as well as what all coaches aim to recruit to their U SPORT programs."
LeBlanc is the seventh player from the Huskies to receive this award since its inception in 2002-03. She will now represent the conference as the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS Marion Hilliard Award. The last AUS student-athlete to take home the national honour was UNB's Jana Headrick (2021-22).
COACH OF THE YEAR: Ben Berthiaume, STFX X-Women
In his seventh season at the helm of the STFX X-Women, Ben Berthiaume has been selected by his peers as the AUS women's hockey coach of the year.
Led by Berthiaume, STFX finished the 2022-23 regular season with a 20-8 record, earning a bye to the semi-final round of the AUS playoffs.
The X-Women led both AUS and U SPORTS in goals (110), assists (173), goals per game (3.93), shots (1082) and shots per game (38.6). They were also conference leaders in power play goals (26) and short-handed goals (8).
This is Berthiaume's third time being named AUS coach of the year, following wins in 2017-18 and 2014-15.
He'll now be the conference nominee for the U SPORTS coach of the year award. The most recent AUS winner is Saint Mary's bench boss Chris Larade, who took home the honour in both 2015-16 and 2016-17.
2022-23 AUS ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
First Team All-Stars
Goaltender: Kendra Woodland, UNB (4th year - Kamloops, B.C.)
Defence: Lauren Dabrowski, STFX (3rd year - Tiny, Ont.)
Defence: Jenna MacLean, UNB (4th year - Wilcox, Sask.)
Forward: Maggy Burbidge, STFX (3rd year - Falmouth, N.S.)
Forward: Shae Demale, SMU (4th year - Red Deer, Alta.)
Forward: Lea MacLeod, STFX (4th year - Dartmouth, N.S.)
Second Team All-Stars
Goaltender: Grace Beer, Dalhousie (1st year – Oakville, Ont.)
Defence: Josie Chisholm, STFX (4th year - Antigonish, N.S.)
Defence: Orianna MacNeil, UPEI (1st year - Mabou, N.S.)
Forward: Erica Plourde, Université de Moncton (2nd year - Pigeon Hill, N.B.)
Forward: McKinley Nelson, UPEI (2nd year - Calgary, Alta.)
Forward: Brooklyn Paisley, Dalhousie (4th year - Shawnigan Lake, B.C)
All-Rookie Team
Goaltender: Grace Beer, Dalhousie (Oakville, Ont.)
Defence: Orianna MacNeil, UPEI (Mabou, N.S.)
Defence: Kya Moss, STFX (Port Moody, B.C.)
Forward: Amy Dvernichuk, St. Thomas (Regina, Sask.)
Forward: Natasha Falk, Dalhousie (Brandon, Man.)
Forward: Élodie St-Jacques, Université de Moncton (St-Jérôme, Que.)
The semi-final round of the Subway AUS Women's Hockey Championship is set to begin Wednesday.
The REDS will face off against the UPEI Panthers in one best 3-of-5 series, while the Saint Mary's Huskies take on the STFX X-Women in the other.
The full schedule is available here.
All matches of the AUS semifinals will be webcast live at www.AUStv.ca.
The winners of each series will advance to the Subway AUS Women's Hockey Championship best-of-three final series.
The 2023 U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championship is being hosted by Université de Montréal March 16 to 19. The Atlantic conference will have two berths at the national championship. They will be awarded to the AUS champion and runner up.
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