POITRAS TAKES BILL L'HEUREUX TROPHY

HAMILTON - Great goaltending is a key to any hockey team's success. That sentiment is reflected in this year's choice for the Bill L'Heureux Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player in Ontario University Athletics men's hockey, presented by Sher-Wood Hockey. McGill Redmen standout Mathieu Poitras (Gatineau, QC) had a record-breaking season between the pipes for the nationally-ranked McGill Redmen, following up on an impressive rookie campaign in which he recorded a school-record five shutouts. Poitras was simply unbeatable on many nights as he established a new Canadian Interuniversity Sport shutout record with seven, eclipsing the previous mark of six set by Luc Belanger from UQTR in 1997/98 and Chuck Goddard from Saint Mary's in 1972/73. The second-year Mechanical Engineering student also led the country in most major goaltending categories including wins (tied for first with 14), goals against average (1.40) and save percentage (.947). With Poitras getting the bulk of the work in net and rookie Jean-Michel Filiatrault (Laval, QC) going unbeaten in seven appearances, the 20-1-3-0 Redmen also set a new CIS record for team goals against average, finishing the regular season with a miniscule 1.21 gaa.

Poitras was also recognized as the Most Valuable Player in the East Division for the second consecutive year. A fellow member of the goaltending fraternity took the West MVP honours, proving that the OUA is home to some of the best netminders in the nation. Waterloo Warriors workhorse Curtis Darling (Calgary, AB) posted a strong 13-6-3 record in 23 games as he logged 1250 minutes and 22 seconds in goal (third in the OUA). The second-year Speech Communication major and 2005 West Rookie of the Year was also one of the busiest goalies in the league as he faced 724 shots, the fifth highest total among all OUA goalies.

Matt Willoughby (Winnipeg, MB) burst onto the OUA scene and made a major impact for the Guelph Gryphons en route to being named the West's Rookie of the Year. Playing on a line with first-team all-star and league scoring leader Jesse Pyatt (Thunder Bay, ON), Willoughby finished fourth in OUA scoring with 34 points, tallying nine goals and a league-high 25 assists. Lakehead Thunderwolves captain Joel Scherban (Thunder Bay, ON) capped off his magnificent five-year career by earning both the West's Sportsman of the Year Award (his third) and the OUA West nomination for the Randy Gregg Award, which goes to the CIS athlete who best exhibits achievement in the areas of academics, community and hockey. The Wolves all-time points, goals and assists leader endured a difficult season on a personal level. Already suffering from sports-related asthma, he became ill and dropped 30 pounds before being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Scherban, the 2005 CIS Player of the Year, worked hard to get his strength back and has been a big contributor in the playoffs, helping Lakehead eliminate the No. 4 ranked Western Mustangs. Despite his ailments, the former Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick and captain of the OHL's London Knights still recorded 13 goals and 14 assists in 24 games.

Western head coach Clarke Singer has been named the West Coach of the Year after guiding his Mustangs to a 21-2-1-0 record, which was 10 points better than the second-place team in the Far West Division. The award is Singer's fifth in his tenure at Western. He won the first four in consecutive seasons from 1999/2000 to 2002/03. In 2001/02, he also earned the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award as CIS Coach of the Year.

The East awards were dominated by a group of Quebec-based stars. First-year sensation Mathieu Gravel (St-Hubert, QC) played a major role in the success of UQTR Patriotes this season, helping him earn the Division's Rookie of the Year award. The left-winger scored 14 goals and added 22 helpers to finish with 36 points, second in the OUA behind only Pyatt (26-21-47). Gravel was particularly effective on the explosive Patriotes power play, tallying seven of his 14 goals with the man advantage. Ottawa Gee-Gees forward Ben McLeod (Edmonton, AB) is the East Sportsman of the Year. McLeod provided an offensive spark for the Gee-Gees, scoring 12 goals and adding 13 assists in 24 games. The thoughtful Sunday school teacher accumulated just eight penalty minutes on the season. Frederic Faucher (St. Raymond, QC) is the OUA East nominee for the Randy Gregg Award. The third-year left winger and Exercise Science major averaged better than a point per game with four goals and 16 assists in 18 contests, while also making a significant impact in the Montreal community.

McGill bench boss Martin Raymond takes his second consecutive East Coach of the Year award following a brilliant season by his Redmen. In his 11th season at the helm, Raymond is the all-time winningest coach in McGill's lengthy hockey history. The storied program, considered to be the first organized hockey team formed in Canada, climbed to the top of the CIS national poll this season for the first time in school history this season.


BILL L'HEUREUX TROPHY
Most Outstanding Player, present by Sher-wood Hockey
Mathieu Poitras - McGill


WEST DIVISION

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Curtis Darling - Waterloo

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Matt Willoughby - Guelph

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Joel Scherban - Lakehead

RANDY GREGG AWARD NOMINEE
Joel Scherban - Lakehead

FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
Goalie - Curtis Darling - Waterloo
Defence - Matt Bannan - Western
Defence - Erik Lodge - Lakehead
Forward - Jesse Pyatt - Guelph
Forward - Jeff Richards - Lakehead
Forward - Joel Scherban - Lakehead

SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
Goalie - Scott Dickie - Western
Defence - Steve Chabbert - York
Defence - Marcus Smith - York
Forward - Kevin Hurley - Waterloo
Forward - Jamie Chamberlain - Western
Forward - Sal Peralta - Western

ALL ROOKIE TEAM
Goalie - Brad Topping - Western
Defence - Dan Ehrman - Laurier
Defence - Matt Jacques - Lakehead
Forward - Shawn Doucet - Brock
Forward - Matt Willoughby - Guelph
Forward - Evan Kotsopolous - Western

COACH OF THE YEAR
Clarke Singer - Western


EAST DIVISION

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Mathieu Poitras - McGill

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Mathieu Gravel - UQTR

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Ben McLeod - Ottawa

RANDY GREGG AWARD NOMINEE
Frederic Faucher - Concordia

FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
Goalie - Mathieu Poitras - McGill
Defence - Louis Mandeville - UQTR
Defence - David Urquhart - McGill
Forward - Shawn Shewchuk - McGill
Forward - Doug Orr - McGill
Forward - Mathieu Gravel - UQTR

SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
Goalie - Dany Dallaire - UQTR
Defence - Brent Maurice - RMC
Defence - Samuel Gibbons - UQTR
Forward - Thiery Poudrier - UQTR
Forward - Ben McLeod - Ottawa
Forward - Karl Gagne - Concordia

ALL ROOKIE TEAM
Goalie - Jean-Michel Filiatrault - McGill
Defence - Louis-Simon Allaire - McGill
Defence - Tommy Lafontaine - UQTR
Forward - Kevin Glode - Ottawa
Forward - Mathieu Gravel - UQTR
Forward - Karl Gagne - Concordia

COACH OF THE YEAR
Martin Raymond - McGill

Pioneer Petroleums s the official sponsor of the Men's and Women's OUA Hockey Championships.

- O U A -

(Photo: McGill's superb netminder Mathieu Poitras led the nation in most major goaltending categories in a record-breaking season.)

Enquires can be addressed to:

David DiCenzo
Communications and Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics
Phone: 905-540-5156
Fax: 905-540-5149
Email: david.dicenzo@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca