OUA announces 2015-16 Women's Hockey Major Awards and All-Stars

BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is excited to announce the 2015-16 women's hockey major awards and all-stars.

With another year of OUA women's hockey just about in the books, it is once again time to recognize the players and coaches that excelled throughout the season. The all-stars and major award winners have been announced, and include members of seven different participating schools.

For the first time since the 2009-10 season, the OUA Player of the Year is a goaltender, as Valerie Lamenta (Montreal, Que.) of the Guelph Gryphons took home the honour. Lamenta was instrumental in the Gryphons locking down the province's best defence this season, as they allowed a league low of 30 goals against. The netminder owned the league's top goals against average (0.99) and save percentage (.957). 

The Montreal Que. native is the first Gryphon to win the award since Amanda Parkins did so back in the 2012-13 season.

Following a fantastic freshman campaign, Queen's Gaels forward Katrina Manoukarakis (Scarborough, Ont.) grabbed Rookie of the Year honours.  Manoukarakis is the first Gaels player to win the award since the 2006-07 season and just the fifth since 1998. In addition to landing a spot on the all-rookie team, Manoukarakis was also named an OUA second-team all-star. The first-year physical health and education student finished second in the province in goals (15) and fourth in points (25).  The Scarborough, Ont. native was a power-play specialist, leading the league with nine goals on the man-advantage.

Grabbing Coach of the Year honours for the third time in her career is Guelph Gryphons head coach Rachel Flanagan.  Flanagan led the Gryphons to the No. 1 ranking in the country, with a record of 21-2-1, and a spot in the McCaw Cup final. With Flanagan behind the bench, the Gryphons led OUA with 3.25 goals per game, while allowing the least goals against per game, with a mark of 1.23. This is the third time in the past four seasons Flanagan has won the award after previously being recognized following the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

This year's recipient of the Marion Hillard Award of Merit, which recognizes excellence in the areas of athletics, academics and community involvement, is Queen's Gaels' forward Courtenay Jacklin (Regina, Sask.).

In the classroom, Jacklin owns the highest GPA of any female student-athlete at Queen's, while making the Dean's Honour list from 2012-2015. Off the ice, Jacklin is also heavily involved in the community, having volunteered with a wide range of organizations, including: Queen's Backing Action on Climate Change, Kingston Immigration Partnership, Skate Canada Special Olympics Figure Skating and the Kingston General Hospital. On the ice, the Regina, Sask. native is an assistant captain for the Gaels, and finished in the top 25 in the league for goals (6) and points (16), amassing 56 points over her OUA career.

Joining Lamenta on the first all-star team are Gryphons forward Averi Nooren (Aylmer, Ont.), Taylor Day (Ilderton, Ont.) of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and representing the Windsor Lancers, forward Erinn Noseworthy (Appin, Ont.). 

On defence, it will be a McCaw Cup finals tandem of Western Mustangs standout Katelyn Gosling (London, Ont.), and Leigh Shilton (Belleville, Ont.) from the Guelph Gryphons.

This marks the first all-star nod for Nooren, who was the catalyst of the Gryphons' league best offence, leading them with 14 goals and 25 points, which were both good for fourth best in OUA.  The Alymer, Ont. native appeared in all 24 games this season for the Gryphons and provided a spark for the conferences' top ranked offence.

Joining Nooren on the top line, Day also finished the regular season with 25 points, and was second in the league in goals, finding the back of the net 15 times. The fourth-year kinesiology student-athlete also performed well in the clutch this year, finishing with the second most game winning goals (5) in OUA and a couple highlight reel markers featured on the OUA Plays of Week. 

Noseworthy was an integral part of a potent Lancers offence that finished second in the province with 2.79 goals per game.  Noseworthy, who is originally from Appin, Ont., finished the regular season with 30 points, second in OUA, while tallying 13 goals to finish fifth in the conference. Noseworthy, who is also known for her playmaking ability, helped her teammates find the back of the net as well, as she dished out the second most assists (17) in the province.

On the back end, Gosling is the lone Western player to receive an all-star nod this season, but she is no stranger to doing so.  Playing for her hometown Mustangs, Gosling has been named to the first-team in each of the past three seasons, as well as grabbing a spot on the all-rookie team in 2011-12. Gosling led all OUA defenders in points with 18, while also being a force at the other end of the rink, spearheading an unwavering Western Mustangs' defence that allowed the second least goals per game in the league (1.51).

Rounding out the first-team all-stars is Shilton, who in addition to Lamenta played a pivotal role in the Guelph Gryphons achieving the league's top defence. With the all-star nod, the fifth-year human kinetics student receives the first of her career, in a season that saw her lead all defencemen in the province with eight goals, while finishing third amongst them with 16 points.

In addition to Manoukarakis, the OUA second-team consists of forwards Jessica Pinkerton (Oshawa, Ont.), of Guelph and Windsor Lancers dual-sport student-athlete Krystin Lawrence (Tecumseh, Ont.).

On defence, Queen's Gaels captain Mary Coughlin (Amherstburg, Ont.) and Windsor's Natalie Barrette (Belle River, Ont.) have been selected to the squad. 

In goal for the second-team all-stars is Gaels goaltender Caitlyn Lahonen (Saskatoon, Sask.) following a terrific season.

Pinkerton is once again an OUA all-star, having also received the second-team nod in the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons, while making the first-team in 2013-14. The fifth-year sociology student-athlete finished two points behind Nooren as part of the Gryphons' league best offence with 23 points, which was seventh in the province.

Lawrence proved that the sophomore slump is nothing but a myth. After making the all-rookie team a year ago, the second-year criminology student-athlete led all of OUA with 31 points, which was good for fifth in CIS. The playmaker, who also plays goalie for the Lancers' soccer team, led the province in assists with 18.

On the other side of the puck, Coughlin played a key role in a Queen's defensive scheme that ranked in the top three in OUA, as the Gaels allowed a stingy 1.63 goals against per game. Receiving the first all-star nod of her career, Coughlin's talents were not limited to the back end, as the fifth-year veteran finished fourth among defensemen with 15 points in 24 games.

Barrette, who was an all-rookie back in the 2012-13 season, finished second in the league in scoring by a defenceman with 17 points, while also finishing in the top 10 in assists by all position players, with 14.

The keeper of the Queen's crease, Lahonen was another instrumental piece in an aforementioned Queen's defence that allowed the third least goals against per game (1.63). The netminder finished second in the entire league in goals against average with 1.42, while recording the second best save percentage at .949.  The Saskatoon, Sask. native was stalwart in the Gaels goal as she appeared in all but one game this season for Queen's.

Rounding out this year's award winners and all-stars, joining Manoukarakis on the all-rookie team, are forwards Madison MacCulloch (Toronto, Ont.), of Laurier and Jessica Robichaud (Whitby, Ont.), of Toronto, Varsity Blues defensemen Christine Chao (Toronto, Ont.), and Stacey Henshaw (Dorchester, Ont.), of the Nipissing Lakers and goaltender Valencia Yordanov (Port Coquitlam, B.C.), of the Varsity Blues.

OUA Major Award Winners

Player of the Year: Valerie Lamenta – Goaltender – Guelph Gryphons
Rookie of the Year: Katrina Manoukarakis – Forward – Queen's Gaels
Marion Hillard Award: Courtenay Jacklin – Forward – Queen's Gaels
Coach of the Year: Rachel Flanagan – Guelph Gryphons

OUA First-Team All-Stars
Averi Nooren – Forward – Guelph Gryphons
Taylor Day – Forward – Toronto Varsity Blues
Erin Noseworthy – Forward – Windsor Lancers
Leigh Shilton – Defence – Guelph Gryphons
Katelyn Gosling – Defence – Western Mustangs
Valerie Lamenta – Goaltender – Guelph Gryphons

OUA Second-Team All-Stars

Jessica Pinkerton – Forward – Guelph Gryphons
Katrina Manoukarakis – Forward – Queen's Gaels
Krystin Lawrence – Forward – Windsor Lancers
Mary Coughlin – Defence – Queen's Gaels
Natalie Barrette – Defence – Windsor Lancers
Caitlyn Lahonen – Goaltender – Queen's Gaels

OUA All-Rookie Team

Katrina Manoukarakis – Forward – Queen's Gaels
Madison MacCulloch – Forward – Laurier Golden Hawks
Jessica Robichaud – Forward – Toronto Varsity Blues
Cristine Chao – Defence – Toronto Varsity Blues
Stacey Henshaw – Defence – Nipissing Lakers
Valencia Yordanov – Goaltender – Toronto Varsity Blues