Swan & Pageau earn AUS honors

X-Men hockey right winger Bryce Swan was named an AUS second team all-star this past week, and defenseman Nick Pageau was named to the AUS all-rookie team.

Swan is a second year business student from Alder Point, NS led the team in scoring this year with 31 points (20 goals, 11 assists). He tied for 14th overall in scoring in the AUS and was third in goals scored with 20, behind only conference MVP Hunter Tremblay (25) of UNB and Cody Thornton (24) of Saint Mary’s. Bryce was also 4th overall in the AUS in shot percentage at .230. He scored 4 power play goals on the season and had a six-point game against Saint Mary’s on Nov. 6, 2009. Bryce tallied 2 goals and 3 assists in 8 playoff games for StFX this year.

Nick Pageau is a first year Human Kinetics student from Stoney Creek, ON who played junior hockey last season with the Belleville Bulls of the OHL. In 28 games played this year with the X-Men, Nick finished 5th overall in team scoring and 1st amongst defensemen with 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists). He was 6th overall amongst AUS defenseman in scoring. Nick also scored 2 power play goals and 2 game winning goals and saw time on the X-Men power play and penalty kill teams.

The complete AUS release highlighting all AUS all-stars, all-rookies and major award winners follows.

2009-10 AUS Men's Hockey Awards and All-Star Teams Announced
Courtesy Atlantic University Sport

March 16, 2010 (HALIFAX, NS) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2009-10 men's hockey major award winners and all-star teams as chosen by the eight Atlantic conference head coaches following regular season play.

The 2009-10 Atlantic University Sport Most Valuable Player is Hunter Tremblay of the UNB Varsity Reds.

Tremblay, a third year forward from Timmins, Ont., led the Atlantic conference and the CIS in scoring (57 points), game-winning goals (8) and short-handed goals (5). His 25 goals this season also tied him for the CIS lead in that category with McGill's Francis Verreault-Paul.

Hunter, the only player in CIS men's hockey to average more than two points per game (2.11 points per game), recorded at least a point in 23 of the 27 games he played this year and had 20 games in which he had two or more points. In 2007-08 he was selected as the AUS Rookie of the Year and last season he was named a CIS second team all-Canadian.

This season, Tremblay became the first UNB player to have 50-point seasons in three consecutive years and he is already among the AUS all-time leaders with 157 points in three seasons, ranking him 48th in conference history.

Hunter is just the third V-Reds player to be named the Atlantic conference's Most Valuable Player and the second in the past three seasons (Rob Hennigar, 2007-08). Hennigar and former UNB star John LeBlanc are the only players in school history to have won the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as the CIS Player of the Year. LeBlanc was selected as the top player in the nation in 1985-86.

The 2009-10 recipient of the A.J. MacAdam Memorial Trophy as the Rookie of the Year is UPEI forward Jared Gomes (Brampton, Ont.).

Gomes had an impressive freshman season for the Panthers, netting 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points in 28 games. He finished tied for ninth in AUS scoring, tied for second in game-winning goals with four and his seven power-play goals ranked him sixth in the conference.

Gomes is just the fourth UPEI player to win the conference award (Chad Spurr, 2000-01; Craig Jenkins, 1986-87 and Greg Gravel, 1983-84) and will look to become the first Panther to ever be named the CIS Rookie of the Year.

Gardiner MacDougall, head coach of the UNB Varsity Reds, is this year's recipient of the Bob Boucher Memorial Coach of the Year Award.

MacDougall guided the Varsity Reds, ranked no. 1 in CIS for the entire regular season, to a 27-1-0 record and a new AUS record for most points in a single season with 54. UNB, who led the league in most team statistical categories, won their first 26 regular season games before losing 4-3 to the StFX X-Men in the final weekend of league play.

Since joining University of New Brunswick hockey program he has led the Varsity Reds to two CIS Gold Medals, two CIS Silver Medals and one fourth place finish in his ten-year tenure and in 2007 he was an assistant with the AUS all-star squad that won gold at World University Games.

This is his third AUS Coach of the Year award and the second time in the past three seasons MacDougall, a native of Bedeque, PE, has been selected by his peers as the league's top coach. He was also named the Atlantic conference Coach of the Year in 2007-08 and 2003-04.

Former UNB coach Mike Kelly is the only V-Reds coach to win the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award as the CIS Coach of the Year. He took home the award following the 1997-98 season.

For the second year in a row, Saint Mary's forward Cam Fergus has been chosen as the Atlantic University Sport Most Sportsmanlike Player.

Fergus, a third year forward from Brantford, Ont., finished tied for fourth in AUS scoring with 17 goals and 39 points in 26 games this season before being sidelined with a back injury with two games remaining in the season. His season included 10 power-play goals, three game-winning markers and a hat-trick.

As one of the league's top players, Fergus often receives a significant amount of attention from opposing teams yet remains very disciplined. Cam picked up just seven minor penalties this season.

"Cam's incredible numbers offensively have masked the class and integrity he has shown since becoming a student-athlete here at Saint Mary's," says Huskies head coach Trevor Stienburg. "His sportsmanship and integrity are second to none."

UNB forward and captain Kyle Bailey is the Atlantic conference recipient of the Godfrey Award. The Godfrey award, named after Dr. Bill Godfrey, is given annually to the player who best represents the spirit of intercollegiate hockey by his leadership both on and off the ice and by his conduct throughout the season.

Kyle, the team captain and a native of Ponoka, Alta., finished tied for fourteenth in AUS scoring this season with 14 goals and 31 points in 28 games played. He has recorded 39 goals and 52 assists for 91 points in 83 regular season games over his three year career at UNB.

Bailey is a member of the UNB Athletes' Council which is responsible for the "Heads Up with the Reds" program and the "Read with the Reds' program which are two initiatives with School District 18. Kyle volunteers his time in both of those programs.

The Heads Up with the Reds program, now in its tenth year, is designed for students in grades four and five and is based around the REDS acronym. Each letter represents a concept (Respect, Esteem, Dedication, Strategy) and athletes attend schools in teams of two explaining how the concepts fit into their lives and their importance (Approximately 1,500 children). The "Read with the Reds" involves UNB student-athletes reading to grade one students, approximately 1,100 school children.

In addition to these ongoing programs Kyle leads his team in other initiatives in the community. He volunteers with the Olympic floor hockey program each week through the school year and has taken a lead role in individual school visits that the hockey program initiates with approximately 12 different schools each year. Bailey also volunteers with the Dragon Boat Festival held annually in Fredericton each fall.

Kyle is also outstanding in the classroom as indicated by his two-time Academic all-Canadian status and he is currently on target to achieve this honour for a third time.

"Kyle is an outstanding player but he is an even better person and wholeheartedly represents our program in the most professional manner possible," says UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall. "Our hockey team has a major profile in the city and it's a chance to give back to the community and the young hockey players that have the same dreams our guys do. Kyle and his teammates' involvement in the community is a key to helping these children grow their dreams."

AUS MEN’S HOCKEY ALL-STAR TEAMS

The 2009-10 AUS all-star teams and all-rookie team were also announced today.

Joining Tremblay on the first team are teammates Luke Gallant and John-Scott Dickson. SMU’s Andrew Hotham, who led the nation in scoring among defensemen, and last year’s AUS MVP Marc Rancourt were selected to the first team along with Acadia’s Kristofer Westblom who was selected by the coaches as the league’s top goalie after posting a 14-8 record and a 2.88 goals against average for the Axemen.

Hotham, Tremblay and Rancourt were each first team selections a year ago while Gallant and Dickson are AUS all-stars for the first time. Westblom was an all-rookie team selection last year.

Rancourt wraps up his five-year career with the Huskies with 216 career points, ranking him seventh all-time in AUS history. His 156 career assists are the second-highest total in Atlantic conference history and a new school record at Saint Mary’s.

Gallant, a third year player from Bedford, NS, doubled his offensive output from a year ago with 36 points in 27 games to finish second in scoring among AUS defensemen.

The second all-star team is comprised of UNB’s Travis Fullerton and Bretton Stamler, SMU’s Cody Thornton and David MacDonald, along with Bryce Swan of the StFX X-Men and Jonathan Laberge of the Acadia Axemen.

Thornton led the country with 15 power-play goals while MacDonald exploded for 33 points after registering just one goal and 10 assists in his previous two seasons combined. Fullerton posted an 18-1 record this year and led all CIS goalies with a 2.09 goals against average.

First team all-stars:
G – Kristofer Westblom, Acadia (2nd year – Meadow Lake, SK)
D – Luke Gallant, UNB (3rd year – Bedford, NS)
D – Andrew Hotham, Saint Mary's (3rd year - Barrie, ON)
F – Hunter Tremblay, UNB (3rd year - Timmins, ON)
F – Marc Rancourt, Saint Mary's (5th year - Gloucester, ON)
F – John Scott Dickson, UNB (5th year - Barrie, ON)

Second team all-stars:
G – Travis Fullerton, UNB (2nd year – Riverview, NB)
D – David MacDonald, Saint Mary’s (3rd year – Baddeck, NS)
D – Bretton Stamler, UNB (2nd year – Edmonton, AB)
F – Bryce Swan, StFX (2nd year – Alder Point, NS)
F – Jonathan Laberge, Acadia (2nd year – Ste-foy, QC)
F – Cody Thornton, Saint Mary’s (3rd year - Woodstock, ON)

This year marks the fourth time for the selection of an all-rookie team in AUS men's hockey. Joining AUS Rookie of the Year Gomes on the squad are UNB’s Ben Shutron and Chris Culligan, along with StFX defenseman Nick Pageau, Acadia forward Spencer Jezegou and Saint Mary’s goalie Neil Conway.

All-rookie team:
G – Neil Conway, Saint Mary’s (Concord, OH)
D – Ben Shutron, UNB (Orleans, ON)
D – Nick Pageau, StFX (Stoney Creek, ON)
F – Jared Gomes, UPEI (Brampton, ON)
F – Spencer Jezegou, Acadia (Oshawa, ON)
F – Chris Culligan, UNB (Howie Center, NS)

The 2010 Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey champions are the Saint Mary’s Huskies, who defeated the StFX X-Men three games to none in the best-of-five AUS championship series that concluded Monday night in Halifax, NS. The Huskies will move on to represent the Atlantic conference at the six-team CIS men's hockey championship hosted by Lakehead University in Thuder Bay, Ont., March 25-28, 2010.