Herrfort’s award haul highlights women’s hockey accolades

Burlington, Ont. – A powerhouse offensively, Leah Herrfort's electrifying season for the Waterloo Warriors was one to behold, with the conference's scoring leader taking home player of the year honours to headline the award winners and all-stars from the 2022-23 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women's hockey season.

Player of the Year & Forward of the Year – Leah Herrfort, Waterloo Warriors



Leah Herrfort is no stranger to thriving on the ice, but she took it to another level during the 2022-23 season.

The OUA leader in goals, assists, and points was the anchor of an electrifying Waterloo Warriors offence. With her 15 goals, 21 assists, and 36 points, Herrfort was nearly unstoppable whenever she hit the ice. It wasn't just a memorable year personally, but in terms of the program ranks as well, as her offensive prowess helped her reach a new school record in goals and points.

The third-year forward from Palmerston, Ont. didn't just shine for her school, meanwhile, as she was also tabbed for national duty as part of Team Canada's FISU Games contingent in Lake Placid, NY. While competing at the World University Games, the arts and business major continued her sensational scoring touch with another four goals and five assists in the tournament en route to a gold medal result.

The now back-to-back forward of the year in the OUA becomes the second straight Waterloo standout to take home MVP honours, following fellow award-winner Carley Olivier a year ago.

Defender of the Year – Carley Olivier, Waterloo Warriors



For a second straight year, Carley Olivier takes home the conference's top rearguard award for the Waterloo Warriors.

In addition to the defender of the year nod in 2021-22, Olivier also entered the 2022-23 campaign as the reigning OUA player of the year. While the latter accolade went to her teammate this time around, the fifth-year kinesiology major was once again a leader on the back-end for the black and gold.

Olivier paced all OUA defenders in scoring with nine goals and 14 assists, proving her prolific two-way play from the back end once again. Her 23 points were also good for an all-time record for the program, topping all Waterloo defenders therein. Her regular season highlight came in the form of a two-game stretch that saw her net three goals and an assist, being named OUA athlete of the week following her return to action after taking part in the FISU Games.

While at the international event, meanwhile, she performed in much the same manner, chipping in with two goals and six assists to buoy all tournament defenders.

Goaltender of the Year – Kristen Swiatoschik, Windsor Lancers



Game in and game out, the task of putting pucks past Kristen Swiatoschik proved to be a daunting one, and it helped lead the Lancers netminder to goaltender of the year honours.

Swiatoschik, a Lasalle, Ont. local, racked up 13 wins for Windsor during the season. She ranked seventh in the conference with a 1.90 goals-against average and fourth in save percentage with a .939 clip. She was the anchor between the pipes for the blue and gold all season, playing in 20 games and registering nearly 1200 minutes in net, good for third among her conference peers in the latter.

With her stellar play in net, the fourth-year human kinetics major and first team all-star helped the Lancers tie the school record for most wins in a season, capturing the Lancers athlete of the week twice and the U SPORTS women's hockey player of the week in mid-November.

Swiatoschik's selection as OUA goaltender of the year marks the first such honour for the program .

Rookie of the Year – Keana McKibbin, Windsor Lancers



Finding her footing right off the bat, Windsor's Keana McKibbin captures the OUA rookie of the year award following her debut varsity campaign.

Ranking third in team scoring on the year, behind Jaden Cherry and all-star Maggie Peterson, McKibbin made her mark on the scoresheet on multiple occasions this year. Finishing with 12 goals and six assists in her 27 games played, the High River, B.C. product ranked fifth in the conference in goals and led all rookies in points. Stepping up on special teams and in the clutch, McKibbin also registered a pair of powerplay tallies and two game-winning goals.

McKibbin's award-winning campaign is the second such result for a Lancers rookie and first since 2002-03.

Coach of the Year – Vicky Sunohara, Toronto Varsity Blues



The best on the ice and the best behind the bench.

The Toronto Varsity Blues, backed by head coach Vicky Sunohara, produced a record-setting regular season, proving to be one of the top teams not only in the conference, but across the country. With 23 wins in 27 games (23-2-2), the Blues set a new program-best with single-season victories, and rolled that into a comfortable spot atop the OUA standings. Finishing 12 points clear of the next highest ranked team in the province, a significant contributor to the team's lofty results was their 16-game winning streak spanning from November 17th to February 4th, a stretch that also saw them reach the No. 1 spot in the national rankings.

When it came to the ways in which Toronto took care of business, Sunohara's group was among the league's best in more ways than one. The top-scoring team, with 3.11 goals per game, also surrendered the fewest tallies to their opposition (1.27 GAA), with all-star Erica Fryer and Madeline Albert combining for the league's best team save percentage (.940). The Blues also best the conference in terms of powerplay success (23.7%) and on the penalty kill 92.7%).

This marks the third straight year that Sunohara has been tabbed as the OUA's coach of the year, in addition to her national honour a year ago.

Marion Hilliard Award – Sophie Young, Western Mustangs



Backed by an outstanding and continued commitment to community service and engagement, Sophie Young has once again been named the Marion Hilliard Award recipient.

The Western Mustangs forward, now the back-to-back recipient of the honour, continues to shine  in terms of her efforts not just on the ice, but to her academics, to her campus, and to the London community.  The criminal justice and sociology double major, among other commitments, is a member of the Western Mustangs Athlete Student-Council (MASC), is a volunteer tutor at the Learning Disabilities Association of London Region, and a campus coordinator for Good2Talk Ontario.

With the MASC, Young provides resources and educational development opportunities for Western University students and student-athletes, as well as increase awareness of the cultural heritage of Canadians of various equity groups while creating opportunities for students to share their stories. As a volunteer tutor, the Regina, Sask. local provides one-on-one academic support to a student with a learning disability, and as a campus coordinator, she supports peers and engages in community building by organizing training initiatives and outreach activities for Brescia students.

Additionally, the third-year Brescia College student has been a College Student-Life Centre student volunteer therein since 2021, and since 2022, has been both a volunteer commissioner with the Brescia University College Student's Council and an event planning volunteer with Western University's Present Active Minds.

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Award – Saije Catcheway, TMU Bold



Saije Catcheway has been named the recipient of the inaugural OUA women's hockey Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Award.

Inspired by her dad to play hockey, the TMU Bold forward's journey has seen her overcome barriers like playing on boys teams while growing up, not having the financial support for specialized on or off-ice training, and struggling with her identity, in becoming a varsity student-athlete, is using her position to positively impact others.

Even with a culture shock upon moving to Toronto from Winnipeg, Catcheway, whose background is Ojibwe, has focused on being herself since joining the Bold women's hockey team and connecting with her teammates with different backgrounds. In integrating herself into a different community from the Skownan First Nation in Manitoba, Catcheway has been a leader and the ultimate team player, while also being confident in herself and who she is. The heart and soul of the team, who also has a desire to get into coaching, is wise beyond her years, and as a result, has brought extraordinary perspective to the team,

The second-year business management student has also been engaged with the community. Some of the ways in which she has done so is by taking part in the team's efforts to bring hockey bags full of equipment to the Native Youth Resource Centre, and also working on additional ways for the team to bring awareness and show support for Indigenous communities and what the Indigenous culture has gone through throughout Canada's history, and hopefully, inspire younger generations of Indigenous hockey players.

True Sport Award – Olivia Giardetti, TMU Bold



The TMU Bold's off-ice leader in every area, Olivia Giardetti takes home the OUA's True Sport Award.

The team's alternate captain for three years, Giardetti is a co-chair of the TMU Student-Athlete Advisory Council, overseeing initiatives of all TMU student-athletes and providing leadership in key areas of student-athlete life. These include things like career networking, mental health resources, financial support resources, peer academic mentoring, and more.

Giardetti has also been a volunteer with the Hockey for Youth Program and the Big Sisters Little Sisters Foundation during her time at TMU. She volunteers with her two younger sisters and two younger brothers hockey teams, including the girls teams in the TMU 7th skater programs.

The fifth-year forward from Whitby, Ont., who is the team leader in fitness testing, also finished second in team scoring this season with a career-high 18 points.

The complete list of 2022-23 OUA women's hockey award winners and all-stars is as follows:

Player of the Year – Leah Herrfort, Waterloo Warriors
Forward of the Year – Leah Herrfort, Waterloo Warriors
Defender of the Year – Carley Olivier, Waterloo Warriors
Goaltender of the Year – Kristen Swiatoschik, Windsor Lancers
Rookie of the Year – Keana McKibbin, Windsor Lancers
Coach of the Year – Vicky Sunohara, Toronto Varsity Blues
Marion Hilliard Award – Sophie Young, Western Mustangs
Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Award – Saije Catcheway, TMU Bold
True Sport Award – Olivia Giardetti, TMU Bold

First Team All-Stars
F – Leah Herrfort, Waterloo Warriors
F – Malory Dominico, Nipissing Lakers
F – Maggie Peterson, Windsor Lancers
D – Carley Olivier, Waterloo Warriors
D – Madison Laberge, Nipissing Lakers
G – Kristen Swiatoschik, Windsor Lancers

Second Team All-Stars
F – Tatum James, Waterloo Warriors
F – Taylor Trussler, Toronto Varsity Blues
F – Hannah Tait, Guelph Gryphons
D – Olivia Hilton, Toronto Varsity Blues
D – Nicole Escano, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks
G – Erica Fryer, Toronto Varsity Blues

All-Rookie Team
F – Keana McKibbin, Windsor Lancers
F – Kaitlyn McKnight, Toronto Varsity Blues
F – Harrie Jones, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks
D – Ahalya Julien-Mederios, TMU Bold
D – Sydnie Miller, Guelph Gryphons
G – Kara Mark, Waterloo Warriors
G – Vanessa Campeau, Queen's Gaels