February 20, 2014
OUA announces women's hockey major award winners and all-stars
HAMILTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is pleased to announce the women’s hockey all-stars and major award winners. This year’s crop of all-stars and award winner shows the depth in OUA women’s hockey, with 11 schools and 18 different players receiving recognition.
For the first time in school history, the OUA women’s hockey player of the year is a member of the Windsor Lancers. Fourth-year forward Jenny MacKnight had an outstanding year for the Lancers en route to being named player of the year. The Regina, Sask. native topped the OUA with 40 points. Her 25 assists topped the league as well and her 15 goals on the year were good enough for second. MacKnight lead a potent Windsor offence that tied for tops in the OUA with 85 goals scored this season. The award is the first postseason honour for MacKnight in her career. She was also named an OUA first team all-star.
Rachel Marriott of the Waterloo Warriors is the 2013-14 OUA rookie of the year and a member of the OUA all-rookie team. Marriott, from Waterloo, Ont., led all first year players with 21 points during the regular season. Her 14 assists was tops among rookies and tied for 14th among all players. The dynamic forward also added seven goals while providing aggressive play on the forecheck for the Warriors.
The Marion Hillard award recognizes excellence in the areas of hockey, athletics and community involvement and is given out in honour of Hillard, who played hockey for the University of Toronto in the 1920’s. This year’s winner is Nicole Kesteris (Aurora, Ont.) of the Varsity Blues. Off the ice, the fourth-year Human Geography major boasts a sparkling GPA in the classroom and volunteers her time with organizations like Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Aid Society and the Toronto Latvian Centre. On the ice, Kesteris has also been named a 2013-14 OUA first team all-star on the strength of a league leading .948 save percentage and a 1.34 goals against average which was second in the OUA. She also logged five shutout wins on the year.
Rachel Flanagan, bench boss of the Guelph Gryphons, is the 2013-14 women’s hockey coach of the year. In her seventh season leading the Gryphs Flanagan’s team finished in first place in OUA with a record of 21-3 and ranked No. 3 in the CIS. Additionally, three of her players achieved all-star status. The coach of the year award is the second in her career, after taking home the honour last season.
Joining Jenny MacKnight and Nicole Kesteris on the first all-star team are forwards Jessica Pinkerton of Guelph and Morgan McHaffie from the Queen’s Gaels, plus blueliners Candice Styles from Laurier and Western’s Katelyn Gosling.
With this year’s first team all-star honour, Guelph forward Jessica Pinkerton (Oshawa, Ont.) receives her third postseason recognition in as many years, after being a second-teamer last season and a member of the all-rookie squad following the 2011-12 season. Her 16 goals this year tied for the OUA lead, and her total of 31 points was good enough for fourth.
In her final OUA season, Queen’s Gael Morgan McHaffie collected 31 points, tying Pinkerton for fourth. The 2013-14 first team all-star nod caps off an outstanding career for the Guelph, Ont. native, who was named a first team all-star in each of the past two years. McHaffie finishes her career with 153 total points, just two shy of the OUA record.
Laurier’s Candice Styles (Orangeville, Ont.) becomes a first team all-star this year on the strength of a career-high 21 points. Styles is a converted forward who made the switch to defence last season and has developed into a constant threat from the point, leading all OUA blueliners in points this year. After previously being named a second team all-star and OUA rookie of the year as a forward, this all-star honour marks her recognition as an elite OUA defenceman.
Katelyn Gosling (London, Ont.) of the Western Mustangs rounds out the 2013-14 OUA first team. Gosling is a stay-at-home defender for Western, but has the skill set to contribute offensively. The third-year blueliner has the lowest point total of her career this year, garnering only 11 points on three goals and eight assists, but she played a pivotal role on a defence that finished fifth in the OUA in goals allowed. Gosling has now earned first team status in back-to-back seasons.
The second all-star team also features a talented group of players who performed extremely well over the course of the regular season.
Guelph’s Christine Grant (Mississauga, Ont.), Brock’s Jessica Fickel (Fort Erie, Ont.) and Laura Brooker (Fergus, Ont.) of the Laurier Golden Hawks received the nod this year as forwards. All three finished in the top 10 in points in the OUA this year.
The second team defence is comprised of York’s Kristen Barbara (Mount Hope, Ont.) and Kayla Dodson (Windsor, Ont.) of the Windsor Lancers. Both Barbara and Dodson were strong two-way players. Each player finished in the top five for points among defencemen. The second team goalie is Stephanie Nehring (Oshawa, Ont.) of the Guelph Gryphons.
Tori Campbell (Lethbridge, Alta.) of the UOIT Ridgebacks is the goalie for the 2013-14 OUA all-rookie team, marking the second year in a row the Ridgebacks have had the top first-year netminder. Joining Campbell on the all-rookie squad are rookie of the year Rachel Marriott of Waterloo and her Warriors teammate Stephanie Digness (Aldergrove, B.C.), Clare McKellar (London, Ont.) of the Queen’s Gaels and a pair of Nipissing Lakers; forward Jade Gauthier (Callendar, Ont.) and defenceman Molly Sipprell (London, Ont.).
Sipprell and Gauthier become the first women’s hockey players from Nipissing University to earn postseason awards, following the team’s first year of OUA competition.
2013-14 OUA WOMEN’S HOCKEY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
Player of the Year: Jenny MacKnight – Windsor
Rookie of the Year: Rachel Marriott – Waterloo
Marion Hillard Award – Nicole Kesteris – Toronto
Coach of the Year: Rachel Flanagan – Guelph
FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
Forwards
Jenny MacKnight – Windsor
Jessica Pinkerton – Guelph
Morgan McHaffie – Queen’s
Defence
Candice Styles – Laurier
Katelyn Gosling – Western
Goaltender
Nicole Kesteris – Toronto
SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
Forwards
Christine Grant – Guelph
Jessica Fickel – Brock
Laura Brooker – Laurier
Defence
Kristen Barbara – York
Kayla Dodson – Windsor
Goaltender
Stephanie Nehring – Guelph
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Forwards
Rachel Marriott – Waterloo
Clare McKellar – Queen’s
Jade Gauthier – Nipissing
Defence
Stephanie Digness – Waterloo
Molly Sipprell – Nipissing
Goaltender
Tori Campbell - UOIT
For the first time in school history, the OUA women’s hockey player of the year is a member of the Windsor Lancers. Fourth-year forward Jenny MacKnight had an outstanding year for the Lancers en route to being named player of the year. The Regina, Sask. native topped the OUA with 40 points. Her 25 assists topped the league as well and her 15 goals on the year were good enough for second. MacKnight lead a potent Windsor offence that tied for tops in the OUA with 85 goals scored this season. The award is the first postseason honour for MacKnight in her career. She was also named an OUA first team all-star.
Rachel Marriott of the Waterloo Warriors is the 2013-14 OUA rookie of the year and a member of the OUA all-rookie team. Marriott, from Waterloo, Ont., led all first year players with 21 points during the regular season. Her 14 assists was tops among rookies and tied for 14th among all players. The dynamic forward also added seven goals while providing aggressive play on the forecheck for the Warriors.
The Marion Hillard award recognizes excellence in the areas of hockey, athletics and community involvement and is given out in honour of Hillard, who played hockey for the University of Toronto in the 1920’s. This year’s winner is Nicole Kesteris (Aurora, Ont.) of the Varsity Blues. Off the ice, the fourth-year Human Geography major boasts a sparkling GPA in the classroom and volunteers her time with organizations like Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Aid Society and the Toronto Latvian Centre. On the ice, Kesteris has also been named a 2013-14 OUA first team all-star on the strength of a league leading .948 save percentage and a 1.34 goals against average which was second in the OUA. She also logged five shutout wins on the year.
Rachel Flanagan, bench boss of the Guelph Gryphons, is the 2013-14 women’s hockey coach of the year. In her seventh season leading the Gryphs Flanagan’s team finished in first place in OUA with a record of 21-3 and ranked No. 3 in the CIS. Additionally, three of her players achieved all-star status. The coach of the year award is the second in her career, after taking home the honour last season.
Joining Jenny MacKnight and Nicole Kesteris on the first all-star team are forwards Jessica Pinkerton of Guelph and Morgan McHaffie from the Queen’s Gaels, plus blueliners Candice Styles from Laurier and Western’s Katelyn Gosling.
With this year’s first team all-star honour, Guelph forward Jessica Pinkerton (Oshawa, Ont.) receives her third postseason recognition in as many years, after being a second-teamer last season and a member of the all-rookie squad following the 2011-12 season. Her 16 goals this year tied for the OUA lead, and her total of 31 points was good enough for fourth.
In her final OUA season, Queen’s Gael Morgan McHaffie collected 31 points, tying Pinkerton for fourth. The 2013-14 first team all-star nod caps off an outstanding career for the Guelph, Ont. native, who was named a first team all-star in each of the past two years. McHaffie finishes her career with 153 total points, just two shy of the OUA record.
Laurier’s Candice Styles (Orangeville, Ont.) becomes a first team all-star this year on the strength of a career-high 21 points. Styles is a converted forward who made the switch to defence last season and has developed into a constant threat from the point, leading all OUA blueliners in points this year. After previously being named a second team all-star and OUA rookie of the year as a forward, this all-star honour marks her recognition as an elite OUA defenceman.
Katelyn Gosling (London, Ont.) of the Western Mustangs rounds out the 2013-14 OUA first team. Gosling is a stay-at-home defender for Western, but has the skill set to contribute offensively. The third-year blueliner has the lowest point total of her career this year, garnering only 11 points on three goals and eight assists, but she played a pivotal role on a defence that finished fifth in the OUA in goals allowed. Gosling has now earned first team status in back-to-back seasons.
The second all-star team also features a talented group of players who performed extremely well over the course of the regular season.
Guelph’s Christine Grant (Mississauga, Ont.), Brock’s Jessica Fickel (Fort Erie, Ont.) and Laura Brooker (Fergus, Ont.) of the Laurier Golden Hawks received the nod this year as forwards. All three finished in the top 10 in points in the OUA this year.
The second team defence is comprised of York’s Kristen Barbara (Mount Hope, Ont.) and Kayla Dodson (Windsor, Ont.) of the Windsor Lancers. Both Barbara and Dodson were strong two-way players. Each player finished in the top five for points among defencemen. The second team goalie is Stephanie Nehring (Oshawa, Ont.) of the Guelph Gryphons.
Tori Campbell (Lethbridge, Alta.) of the UOIT Ridgebacks is the goalie for the 2013-14 OUA all-rookie team, marking the second year in a row the Ridgebacks have had the top first-year netminder. Joining Campbell on the all-rookie squad are rookie of the year Rachel Marriott of Waterloo and her Warriors teammate Stephanie Digness (Aldergrove, B.C.), Clare McKellar (London, Ont.) of the Queen’s Gaels and a pair of Nipissing Lakers; forward Jade Gauthier (Callendar, Ont.) and defenceman Molly Sipprell (London, Ont.).
Sipprell and Gauthier become the first women’s hockey players from Nipissing University to earn postseason awards, following the team’s first year of OUA competition.
2013-14 OUA WOMEN’S HOCKEY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
Player of the Year: Jenny MacKnight – Windsor
Rookie of the Year: Rachel Marriott – Waterloo
Marion Hillard Award – Nicole Kesteris – Toronto
Coach of the Year: Rachel Flanagan – Guelph
FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
Forwards
Jenny MacKnight – Windsor
Jessica Pinkerton – Guelph
Morgan McHaffie – Queen’s
Defence
Candice Styles – Laurier
Katelyn Gosling – Western
Goaltender
Nicole Kesteris – Toronto
SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
Forwards
Christine Grant – Guelph
Jessica Fickel – Brock
Laura Brooker – Laurier
Defence
Kristen Barbara – York
Kayla Dodson – Windsor
Goaltender
Stephanie Nehring – Guelph
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Forwards
Rachel Marriott – Waterloo
Clare McKellar – Queen’s
Jade Gauthier – Nipissing
Defence
Stephanie Digness – Waterloo
Molly Sipprell – Nipissing
Goaltender
Tori Campbell - UOIT
