X-Women's Normore Named Rookie of the Year
Courtesy Atlantic University Sport
2010-11 AUS Women's Hockey Awards and All-Stars Announced
Moncton's Provost named MVP for the third time
March 4, 2011 (HALIFAX, N.S.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2010-11 AUS women's hockey all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's seven head coaches following regular season play. Fifth-year Moncton forward Mariève Provost was named the Atlantic University Sport most valuable player for the third time in her career Friday.
Other AUS major award winners announced during the awards banquet at the StFX Keating Centre in Antigonish, N.S., were StFX's Alex Normore of Bedford, N.S., who was named rookie of the year; Kayla Blackmore of the St. Thomas Tommies, who was selected as the most sportsmanlike player; Mount Allison's Andrea Switalski of Stittsville, Ont., who received the student-athlete community service award; and Mount Allison head coach Zach Ball, who was named the AUS coach of the year.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Mariève Provost, Moncton
The Atlantic University Sport women's hockey most valuable player is once again Moncton's Mariève Provost of the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues.
Provost, a fifth-year forward from Laval, Que., led the nation in scoring for the second year in a row and will end her university career as the all-time leading scorer in CIS women's hockey history with 220 career points in 105 games played.
A first-team AUS all-star each of her five campaigns at Moncton, Provost has earned first-team all-Canadian status on three occasions and led her squad to a bronze medal finish at the 2009 CIS championship. Since being named AUS rookie of-the-year in 2006-07, she has won four AUS scoring titles along with two CIS scoring crowns.
This season, Mariève netted 19 goals and 26 assists for 45 points in 21 regular season games for the Aigles Bleues. Her season also included travelling to Turkey to help Team Canada successfully defend its Winter Universiade title in women's hockey.
Provost season-by-season (regular season only)
2010-11: 21 GP, 19 goals, 26 assists, 45 points
2009-10: 24 GP, 29-22-51
2008-09: 19 GP, 19-18-37
2007-08: 20 GP, 18-22-40
2006-07: 21 GP, 25-22-47
CAREER: 105 GP, 110-110-220
CIS women's hockey career points leaders (regular season only)
1. Mariève Provost, Moncton, 5th season (2006-07 to 2010-11), 105 GP, 110-110-220
2. Tarin Podloski, Alberta, 5 seasons (2004-05 to 2006-07 / 2008-09 to 2009-10), 107 GP, 91-122-213
3. Danielle Bourgeois, Alberta, 5 seasons (1999-00 / 2001-02 to 2004-05): 85 GP, 106-106-212
4. Brayden Ferguson, StFX, 5 seasons (2004-05 to 2008-09), 100 GP, 105-91-196
5. Lindsay Taylor, Saint Mary’s, 5 seasons (2002-03 to 2006-07): 74 GP, 80-104-184
Mariève will represent the conference at the CIS Championship banquet this month as the AUS nominee for the CIS player of the year award. StFX forward Brayden Ferguson was named CIS player of the year in 2007-08 and is the only Atlantic University Sport player to have won the national award.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Alex Normore, StFX
The Atlantic conference Rookie of the Year for 2010-11 is StFX X-Women forward Alex Normore.
In just her first year with the StFX program, Alex, a native of Bedford, N.S., played in all 24 games for the CIS No. 3-ranked X-Women, finishing third in CIS scoring with 16 goals and 25 assists for 41 points, the most of any first-year player in the nation this season.
Normore, who's 16 goals were the third highest total in the Atlantic conference, also scored four power-play goals, one short-handed marker and added two game-winning goals.
"Alex is a solid first-year player who finished third in the country in scoring this season," said StFX head coach David Synishin. "She played in all situations for us and was the first player we put out at crucial times in a game. Alex has great speed, sees the ice very well and can control a game offensively."
Alex becomes the third StFX player to be named the conference's top rookie, joining last year's recipient Abygail Laking and former X-Women star Rebecca Davies, who won the award in 2003-04.
Normore will look to become just the third Atlantic conference player to be selected as the CIS Rookie of the Year. Former Saint Mary's Huskies stars Lindsay Taylor (2002-03) and Courtney Schriver (2004-05) are the only AUS players to have won the CIS award.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Zach Ball, Mount Allison
In just his second full season as head coach, Zach Ball was chosen by his peers as the 2010-11 AUS coach of the year and becomes the first Mount Allison recipient of this award.
Ball, a native of Belleville, Ont., guided the Mounties to a 10-14 regular season record this season and a berth in the AUS playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
After his inaugural season behind the Mount Allison bench which saw the Mounties finish with a 2-22 record, Ball's squad improved by an impressive eight wins this year. Mount Allison's season included a pair of three-game winning streaks and the ten wins are the most by any Mount Allison team since women's hockey was adopted as a sanctioned AUS sport.
"Zach has done a great job with our women's hockey program since taking over as head coach two seasons ago and his leadership has been critical in the significant progress that we've had this year," said Pierre Arsenault, Director of Athletics at Mount Allison. "He has a vision of where he wants to take our program and he has been able to relate well with our players and to attract top talent to our team. He does things the right way and he is doing a great job of building a women's hockey program that combines support for the academic priorities of our student-athletes and the ability to compete with the best teams in our league."
Saint Mary's head coach Lisa Jordan, Dalhousie head coach Lesley Jordan and Moncton's Rhéal Bourdage are the only Atlantic conference coaches to be selected as CIS coach of the year.
MOST SPORTSMANLIKE PLAYER: Kayla Blackmore, St. Thomas
Kayla Blackmore of the St. Thomas Tommies has been chosen by the coaches as the conference's Most Sportsmanlike Player.
This award recognizes a student-athlete who best represents the spirit of the game by leadership on and off the ice by her conduct throughout the season.
Blackmore, a third-year forward from Fredericton, N.B., appeared in 21 games this season, scoring nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points to finish second in team scoring and 14th in AUS scoring.
Kayla, who was named to the AUS all-rookie team following the 2008-09 season, was assessed just six minor penalties this season.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Andrea Switalski, Mount Allison
Andrea Switalski of the Mount Allison Mounties is the 2010-11 recipient of the Student-Athlete and Community Service Award and the AUS nominee for the CIS Marion Hilliard Award. This award recognizes outstanding achievement in hockey, academics and community involvement.
A fifth-year defenseman from Stittsville, Ont., Andrea is an assistant captain with Mount Allison and finished with two goals and five assists for seven points this season. She is pursuing an honours degree in Geography and has a GPA of 3.7.
Switalski is the co-president of the 'Mounties in Motion' volunteer program for student-athletes where she tutors children in Grade 5 math class and takes part in various intramural sports. Andrea also participates in the 'Mounties for Heart' program, helping create and run workshops for Grade 9 students based on the topic of healthy teen relationship awareness and dating violence prevention.
As a teaching assistant at Tantramar Regional High School, Andrea helps out three times a week for three hours a day, where she volunteers in a Grade 9 English class assisting with necessary writing and grammar problems, as well as reading and comprehension questions.
Switalski has also been a volunteer instructor with the Sackville Minor Hockey Association, helping to teach children, particularly girls, aged 3-6 the rules of the game and basic skills.
"Andrea has played a major role in back-boning our defense over the past four seasons. She is an assistant captain on our team and plays substantial minutes every game," said Mount Allison head coach Zach Ball. "She is a leader on the ice through her play and work ethic. Off the ice, she is committed to academic excellence and has also demonstrated her leadership through the many ways she is contributing and making a difference in the Sackville community."
FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
The Atlantic University Sport first and second team all-stars were also announced Friday, along with this year's all-rookie team.
First team all-stars:
Goaltender - Meghan Corley-Byrne, Mount Allison (3rd year - Stittsville, Ont.)
Defence - Suzanne Fenerty, StFX (4th year - Cole Harbour, N.S.)
Defence - Laura Shearer, Dalhousie (5th year - Falmouth, N.S.)
Forward - Mariève Provost, Moncton (5th year - Laval, Que.)
Forward - Alex Normore, StFX (1st year - Bedford, N.S.)
Forward - Janelle Parent, StFX (2nd year - Panoka, Alta.)
Second team all-stars:
Goaltender - Julia Sharun, St. Thomas (3rd year - Edmonton, Alta.)
Defence - Lauren Oickle, Mount Allison (3rd year - Moncton, N.B.)
Defence - Marilynn Hay, StFX (5th year - Sombra, Ont.)
Forward - Jocelyn LeBlanc, Dalhousie (4th year - Moncton, N.B.)
Forward - Valérie Boisclair, Moncton (5th year - St Léonard d'Aston, Que.)
Forward - Lauren McCusker, Saint Mary's (4th year - Newmarket, Ont.)
All-Rookie Team
Goaltender - Kristy Garrow, StFX (London, Ont.)
Defence - Jenna Pitts, StFX (Antigonish, N.S.)
Defence - Sarah Astle, Saint Mary's (Dartmouth, N.S.)
Forward - Alex Normore, StFX (Bedford, N.S.)
Forward - Lindsay James, Mount Allison (Halifax, N.S.)
Forward - Kristen Cooze, Mount Allison (Kippens, Nfld.)
The 2011 Subway Atlantic University Sport Women's Hockey Championship will be hosted by StFX University, March 3-6, 2011 in Antigonish, N.S.
The six-team championship gets under way Thursday at 3:00pm Atlantic Time with the first of six round-robin duels and concludes Sunday at 2:00pm Atlantic with the championship final.
All seven championship games will be available live via webcast at www.ssncanada.ca/games/.
The six participating teams have been separated into two pools based on the final regular season standings.
Pool "A"
1. StFX
4. Dalhousie
6. Mount Allison
Pool "B"
2. Moncton
3. St. Thomas
5. Saint Mary's
The 2011 tournament schedule is as follows:
Thursday, March 3rd
Game #1: StFX (1st) 6, Mount Allison (6th) 1 (Final)
Game #2: Moncton (2nd) 2, Saint Mary's (5th) 1 (Final)
Friday, March 4th
Game #3: Dalhousie (4th) vs. Mount Allison, 3:00pm
Game #4: St. Thomas (3rd) vs. Saint Mary’s, 7:00pm
Saturday, March 5th
Game #5: Dalhousie (4th) vs. StFX, 3:00pm
Game #6: St. Thomas (3rd) vs. Moncton, 7:00pm
Sunday, March 6th
Championship Game: Pool "A" winner vs. Pool "B" winner, 2:00pm