March 20, 2008
BROCK'S NYSTROM TAKES HOME CIS MEN'S HOCKEY COACH OF THE YEAR HONOURS
MONCTON (CIS) - University of New Brunswick fourth-year forward Rob Hennigar of Jordan, Ont. is the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's hockey player of the year.
Hennigar becomes only the second Varsity Red to claim the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy since it was first presented in 1975-76. Forward John LeBlanc was the recipient in 1985-86.
Other CIS major award winners announced Wednesday night in Moncton were Wilfrid Laurier's Craig Voakes of St. Thomas, Ont., who received the Clare Drake Award as rookie of the year, Saint Mary's Dan Rudisuela of St. Catharines, Ont., who claimed the R.W. Pugh Award as the most sportsmanlike player, Brock's Murray Nystrom, who captured the Father George Kehoe Memorial award as coach of the year, and Saskatchewan's Curtis Austring of Stewart Valley, Sask., who received the Dr. Randy Gregg Award recognizing his excellence in hockey, academics and community involvement.
Hennigar, a bachelor of recreation and sports studies and concurrent education student, led the nation in scoring with 15 goals and 43 assists - also a CIS high - for 58 points in 27 conference games as he helped defending national champion UNB set Atlantic University Sport single-season records for wins (26) and points (53). The five-foot-11, 200-pound playmaker, who also tied for the CIS lead with four shorthanded markers, kept his torrid pace in the playoffs tallying 10 points (1-9-10) in five outings as the V-Reds swept St. Thomas and Saint Mary's to enter this week's University Cup tournament as the number-one seed.
An assistant captain for the second straight season, Hennigar is named to the first all-Canadian team for the first time. A former AUS rookie of the year and member of the CIS all-rookie team back in 2004-05, he was a second-team all-Canadian a year ago after he finished seventh in the national scoring race with 42 points in 25 contests. The 24-year-old was named UNB male athlete of the year in 2006-07 after he guided the V-Reds to the second University Cup championship in team history and led Canada to the gold medal at the 2007 Winter Universiade in Italy, where he tied for the team lead with nine points in six games, including two goals in a 3-1 gold-medal win over Russia.
Hennigar joined the V-Reds following a productive four-year major junior career with the Windsor Spitfires, where he earned a nod as an OHL all-star. He tallied 79 points in 68 games in his final OHL season in 2003-04.
"Rob has made a positive, significant difference in the success of our hockey program," said UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall. "This season he has culminated his excellent four-year career by having his best campaign and leading our team to our best regular schedule ever."
Voakes, a geography major, is the second Golden Hawk to win the Drake Award since its inception in 1985-86. Forward John Spoltore was honoured in 1992-93.
The five-foot-11, 175-pound forward was stellar in his university debut leading the nation with 23 goals in 26 conference games and finishing with 42 points, which tied him for ninth in the country and gave him a share of the team lead with his older brother Mark, a fourth-year centre and his linemate for most of the campaign. The younger Voakes, who had a 15-game scoring streak over the course of the schedule, also led CIS in the regular season with three hat tricks, was second with five game-winning goals and third with 10 power-play markers - an OUA high.
Voakes arrived at Laurier after a five-year OHL career during which he tallied 238 points in 324 games with Sudbury, Kitchener, Windsor and Sarnia. He also participated in the "Making the Cut" reality TV series.
"Whenever you add a player of Craig's calibre, it's going to be a huge plus for your hockey program," said Laurier second-year bench boss Kelly Nobes. "He has been nothing short of sensational and was our go-to guy in his first season. He is more than deserving of this award."
Rudisuela, an academic all-Canadian who has completed his undergraduate degree in Commerce and is currently working towards his MBA, is the first Huskie to be named the CIS most sportsmanlike player.
The fourth-year team captain tied for 10th in AUS scoring with 33 points in 26 conference contests while being assessed only 14 penalty minutes all season.
The AUS most valuable player and a first-team all-Canadian a year ago, he was an assistant captain on Canada's gold-medal-winning squad at the 2007 Winter Universiade in Italy, where he finished third on the team with eight points in six outings.
\"Dan distinguishes himself from his peers as a result of his inner drive, motivation and desire for greatness,\" commented Saint Mary's head coach Trevor Stienburg. \"Witnessing Dan's growth as an athlete and as a person has shown me that through hard work and determination anything is possible. He is a great role model for all athletes and we're very proud to have him as a recipient of this prestigious award.\"
Nystrom becomes the first Brock bench boss to be named CIS coach of the year since the inception of the Kehoe Memorial Award in 1970-71.
In his 10th campaign at the helm of the Badgers, the Thunder Bay, Ont. native who now resides in Wellan, Ont. guided his troops to first place in the OUA Mid-West Division with a 17-8-0-3 record and 37 points, a seven-point improvement from a 14-12-1-1 mark in 2006-07. Brock's success continued in the playoffs with upsets of No.8-ranked Western Ontario and No.3-Lakehead, an appearance in the OUA Queen's Cup final and the team's first-ever berth in the University Cup tournament.
An assistant coach with Canada's entry at the 2005 Winter Universiade in Austria, Nystrom acted as assistant coach at Western for one season in 1992-93 and was an assistant with the London Knights and the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL prior to moving in his current position in the spring of 1998. As a player, he captained both the Knights and the UNB Varsity Reds, and attended the Buffalo Sabres training camp in the fall of 1986.
Austring is the first Saskatchewan Huskie to receive the Dr. Randy Gregg Award.
Despite being sidelined with injuries for part of the campaign, the six-foot-one forward and alternate team captain managed 16 points in 16 conference games this season as the Huskies finished second in the Canada West standings before reaching the conference final and earning a trip to the University Cup tourney.
A double major in the Murray Edwards School of Business, Austring has been both a CIS academic all-Canadian Team and a member of the Huskie Athletics all-academic teams. He is a leader in the community, working in his church and at bible camps in the summer, and the recipient of the Canada West UBC Hockey Alumni Trophy for sportsmanship and ability the past two seasons.
Prior to joining the Huskies, Austring played in the WHL for the Kamloops Blazers, Regina Pats and Medicine Hat Tigers, skating in the Memorial Cup. He claimed leadership, MVP and community service awards with his major junior teams and was also an assistant coach with Medicine Hat at the age of 21 when the Tigers captured the Memorial Cup in 2003.
The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday.
Joining Hennigar on the first CIS squad are Lakehead fourth-year goaltender Chris Whitley of Thunder Bay, Ont., Alberta fifth-year defenceman Harlan Anderson of Vernon, B.C., Lakehead second-year rearguard Jordan C. Smith of Sault Ste Marie, Ont., UQTR third-year forward Mathieu Gravel of Greenfield Park, Que., and Calgary first-year forward Jared Aulin of Calgary.
Whitley and Anderson, a second-team CIS all-star in 2006-07, are the OUA and Canada West players of the year, respectively. Whitley kept an unblemished 15-0 record in conference play as Lakehead's number one keeper.
Aulin, a former NHL player who skated in 17 games for the Los Angeles Kings in 2002-03, tallied 34 points in only 16 regular-season games after joining the Dinos.
The second all-Canadian team is comprised of UNB second-year goalie Michael Ouzas of Hamilton, Saint Mary's third-year defenceman Scott Hotham of Barrie, Ont., UBC third-year blueliner Brad Zanon of Port Moody, B.C., Western Ontario fourth-year forward Kevin Richardson of South Surrey, B.C., Saskatchewan fifth-year forward Mason Wallin of Prince Albert, Sask., and Saint Mary's third-year forward Marc Rancourt of Gloucester, Ont.
Regina puck stopper Brant Hilton of Winnipeg, Saint Mary's defenceman Andrew Hotham of Barrie, Ont., UQTR rearguard Frederic St-Denis of Greenfield Park, Que., Alberta forward Eric Hunter of Oakbank, Ont., and UNB forward Hunter Tremblay of Timmins, Ont. join Voakes on the all-rookie squad.
The 2008 Cavendish University Cup tournament, hosted by Université de Moncton at the Moncton Coliseum, gets under way Thursday with pool-play duels between No.1-UNB and No.5-Brock at 2 p.m. Atlantic Time, and No.2-Alberta and No.6-Moncton at 8 p.m. (AT). The gold-medal final is set for Sunday at 8 p.m. (AT), live on Rogers Sportsnet. Saturday's two pool-play games will also air live on Rogers Sportsnet, at 2 p.m. (AT) and 8 p.m. (AT).
-CIS-
For more information, please contact:
Michel Bélanger
Communications Manager
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
belanger@universitysport.ca
www.universitysport.ca
Hennigar becomes only the second Varsity Red to claim the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy since it was first presented in 1975-76. Forward John LeBlanc was the recipient in 1985-86.
Other CIS major award winners announced Wednesday night in Moncton were Wilfrid Laurier's Craig Voakes of St. Thomas, Ont., who received the Clare Drake Award as rookie of the year, Saint Mary's Dan Rudisuela of St. Catharines, Ont., who claimed the R.W. Pugh Award as the most sportsmanlike player, Brock's Murray Nystrom, who captured the Father George Kehoe Memorial award as coach of the year, and Saskatchewan's Curtis Austring of Stewart Valley, Sask., who received the Dr. Randy Gregg Award recognizing his excellence in hockey, academics and community involvement.
Hennigar, a bachelor of recreation and sports studies and concurrent education student, led the nation in scoring with 15 goals and 43 assists - also a CIS high - for 58 points in 27 conference games as he helped defending national champion UNB set Atlantic University Sport single-season records for wins (26) and points (53). The five-foot-11, 200-pound playmaker, who also tied for the CIS lead with four shorthanded markers, kept his torrid pace in the playoffs tallying 10 points (1-9-10) in five outings as the V-Reds swept St. Thomas and Saint Mary's to enter this week's University Cup tournament as the number-one seed.
An assistant captain for the second straight season, Hennigar is named to the first all-Canadian team for the first time. A former AUS rookie of the year and member of the CIS all-rookie team back in 2004-05, he was a second-team all-Canadian a year ago after he finished seventh in the national scoring race with 42 points in 25 contests. The 24-year-old was named UNB male athlete of the year in 2006-07 after he guided the V-Reds to the second University Cup championship in team history and led Canada to the gold medal at the 2007 Winter Universiade in Italy, where he tied for the team lead with nine points in six games, including two goals in a 3-1 gold-medal win over Russia.
Hennigar joined the V-Reds following a productive four-year major junior career with the Windsor Spitfires, where he earned a nod as an OHL all-star. He tallied 79 points in 68 games in his final OHL season in 2003-04.
"Rob has made a positive, significant difference in the success of our hockey program," said UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall. "This season he has culminated his excellent four-year career by having his best campaign and leading our team to our best regular schedule ever."
Voakes, a geography major, is the second Golden Hawk to win the Drake Award since its inception in 1985-86. Forward John Spoltore was honoured in 1992-93.
The five-foot-11, 175-pound forward was stellar in his university debut leading the nation with 23 goals in 26 conference games and finishing with 42 points, which tied him for ninth in the country and gave him a share of the team lead with his older brother Mark, a fourth-year centre and his linemate for most of the campaign. The younger Voakes, who had a 15-game scoring streak over the course of the schedule, also led CIS in the regular season with three hat tricks, was second with five game-winning goals and third with 10 power-play markers - an OUA high.
Voakes arrived at Laurier after a five-year OHL career during which he tallied 238 points in 324 games with Sudbury, Kitchener, Windsor and Sarnia. He also participated in the "Making the Cut" reality TV series.
"Whenever you add a player of Craig's calibre, it's going to be a huge plus for your hockey program," said Laurier second-year bench boss Kelly Nobes. "He has been nothing short of sensational and was our go-to guy in his first season. He is more than deserving of this award."
Rudisuela, an academic all-Canadian who has completed his undergraduate degree in Commerce and is currently working towards his MBA, is the first Huskie to be named the CIS most sportsmanlike player.
The fourth-year team captain tied for 10th in AUS scoring with 33 points in 26 conference contests while being assessed only 14 penalty minutes all season.
The AUS most valuable player and a first-team all-Canadian a year ago, he was an assistant captain on Canada's gold-medal-winning squad at the 2007 Winter Universiade in Italy, where he finished third on the team with eight points in six outings.
\"Dan distinguishes himself from his peers as a result of his inner drive, motivation and desire for greatness,\" commented Saint Mary's head coach Trevor Stienburg. \"Witnessing Dan's growth as an athlete and as a person has shown me that through hard work and determination anything is possible. He is a great role model for all athletes and we're very proud to have him as a recipient of this prestigious award.\"
Nystrom becomes the first Brock bench boss to be named CIS coach of the year since the inception of the Kehoe Memorial Award in 1970-71.
In his 10th campaign at the helm of the Badgers, the Thunder Bay, Ont. native who now resides in Wellan, Ont. guided his troops to first place in the OUA Mid-West Division with a 17-8-0-3 record and 37 points, a seven-point improvement from a 14-12-1-1 mark in 2006-07. Brock's success continued in the playoffs with upsets of No.8-ranked Western Ontario and No.3-Lakehead, an appearance in the OUA Queen's Cup final and the team's first-ever berth in the University Cup tournament.
An assistant coach with Canada's entry at the 2005 Winter Universiade in Austria, Nystrom acted as assistant coach at Western for one season in 1992-93 and was an assistant with the London Knights and the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL prior to moving in his current position in the spring of 1998. As a player, he captained both the Knights and the UNB Varsity Reds, and attended the Buffalo Sabres training camp in the fall of 1986.
Austring is the first Saskatchewan Huskie to receive the Dr. Randy Gregg Award.
Despite being sidelined with injuries for part of the campaign, the six-foot-one forward and alternate team captain managed 16 points in 16 conference games this season as the Huskies finished second in the Canada West standings before reaching the conference final and earning a trip to the University Cup tourney.
A double major in the Murray Edwards School of Business, Austring has been both a CIS academic all-Canadian Team and a member of the Huskie Athletics all-academic teams. He is a leader in the community, working in his church and at bible camps in the summer, and the recipient of the Canada West UBC Hockey Alumni Trophy for sportsmanship and ability the past two seasons.
Prior to joining the Huskies, Austring played in the WHL for the Kamloops Blazers, Regina Pats and Medicine Hat Tigers, skating in the Memorial Cup. He claimed leadership, MVP and community service awards with his major junior teams and was also an assistant coach with Medicine Hat at the age of 21 when the Tigers captured the Memorial Cup in 2003.
The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday.
Joining Hennigar on the first CIS squad are Lakehead fourth-year goaltender Chris Whitley of Thunder Bay, Ont., Alberta fifth-year defenceman Harlan Anderson of Vernon, B.C., Lakehead second-year rearguard Jordan C. Smith of Sault Ste Marie, Ont., UQTR third-year forward Mathieu Gravel of Greenfield Park, Que., and Calgary first-year forward Jared Aulin of Calgary.
Whitley and Anderson, a second-team CIS all-star in 2006-07, are the OUA and Canada West players of the year, respectively. Whitley kept an unblemished 15-0 record in conference play as Lakehead's number one keeper.
Aulin, a former NHL player who skated in 17 games for the Los Angeles Kings in 2002-03, tallied 34 points in only 16 regular-season games after joining the Dinos.
The second all-Canadian team is comprised of UNB second-year goalie Michael Ouzas of Hamilton, Saint Mary's third-year defenceman Scott Hotham of Barrie, Ont., UBC third-year blueliner Brad Zanon of Port Moody, B.C., Western Ontario fourth-year forward Kevin Richardson of South Surrey, B.C., Saskatchewan fifth-year forward Mason Wallin of Prince Albert, Sask., and Saint Mary's third-year forward Marc Rancourt of Gloucester, Ont.
Regina puck stopper Brant Hilton of Winnipeg, Saint Mary's defenceman Andrew Hotham of Barrie, Ont., UQTR rearguard Frederic St-Denis of Greenfield Park, Que., Alberta forward Eric Hunter of Oakbank, Ont., and UNB forward Hunter Tremblay of Timmins, Ont. join Voakes on the all-rookie squad.
The 2008 Cavendish University Cup tournament, hosted by Université de Moncton at the Moncton Coliseum, gets under way Thursday with pool-play duels between No.1-UNB and No.5-Brock at 2 p.m. Atlantic Time, and No.2-Alberta and No.6-Moncton at 8 p.m. (AT). The gold-medal final is set for Sunday at 8 p.m. (AT), live on Rogers Sportsnet. Saturday's two pool-play games will also air live on Rogers Sportsnet, at 2 p.m. (AT) and 8 p.m. (AT).
-CIS-
For more information, please contact:
Michel Bélanger
Communications Manager
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
belanger@universitysport.ca
www.universitysport.ca
