AUS
Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2008-09 men's hockey major award winners as selected by the conference's eight head coaches.
The 2008-09 Atlantic University Sport Most Valuable Player is Marc Rancourt, captain of the #4-ranked Saint Mary's Huskies. Rancourt, a fourth year forward from Gloucester, ON, led the Atlantic conference and the CIS in scoring (57 points), assists (41) and game-winning goals (5). Marc, the only player in the CIS to average over two points per game, recorded at least a point in 26-of-28 regular season games this year, including a 19-game streak to open the season. He also had 16 games in which he had two or more points.
This season, Rancourt moved into fifth spot on SMU's all-time scoring list with 175 points over his four-year career (currently 34th all time in conference history). His 57 points this season are the most scored by any Saint Mary's player in a single season since the 1991-92 season when Craig Teeple led the league in scoring with 60 points.
Marc is the sixth Saint Mary's player to be named the Atlantic conference's Most Valuable Player and the second in the past three seasons (Dan Rudisuela, Mississauga Ice Dogs, 2001-04).
Former Saint Mary's star Mark Locken (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, 1976-78) is also the only Huskies player to ever win the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as the CIS Player of the Year, which he was awarded in 1982-83.
The 2008-09 recipient of the A.J. MacAdam Memorial Trophy as the Rookie of the Year is Acadia's Jonathan Laberge (Ste-foy, PQ).
Laberge led the Axemen and all AUS first year players this season with 32 points, including 14 goals in 26 games.
The first year centreman captured opponents’ attention early in the season with a seven-game point scoring streak to kick off his university career. Laberge, who tied for 13th overall in league scoring, also netted seven power-play markers and two game-winning goals.
Axemen Head Coach Darren Burns sees Laberge as a impact player who will make his mark on the AUS in coming years. "Jonathan is a very solid unselfish two-way forward who is a student of the game. His passion and intelligence for the game is second to none, allowing him to produce the points he did this season."
Laberge is just the third Acadia player to win the conference award (Christian Skoryna, Det. Compuware & Belleville Bulls, 1990-94); Derek Kletzel - 1992-93) and will look to become the first Axemen to be named the CIS Rookie of the Year.
Robert Mongrain, head coach of the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus, is this year's recipient of the Bob Boucher Memorial Coach of the Year Award. Mongrain guided the Aigles Bleus to a third place finish this season with a 16-8-4 regular season record and were ranked as high as #2 this year in the CIS top 10 rankings.
This is the second time in the past three seasons Mongrain has been selected by his peers as the league's top coach. He was named the AUS Coach of the Year in 2006-07 and that season was also awarded the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award as the CIS Coach of the Year.
Cam Fergus (Kitchener Rangers, 2002-04) of the Saint Mary's Huskies has been chosen as the Atlantic University Sport Most Sportsmanlike Player. Fergus, a second year forward from Brantford, ON, finished second in AUS scoring with 22 goals and 51 points in 28 games this season. His 22 goals tied team-mate Cody Thornton (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds & Belleville Bulls, 2002-07) for the most in the conference and included 13 power-play markers and a pair of game-winners.
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.
Saint Mary's Huskies forward and captain Marc Rancourt 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.
Rancourt, a fourth year forward and captain with the Huskies, was named a first team all-star earlier this week and was selected as this year's league Most Valuable Player after leading the country in scoring, assists and game-winning goals. He has led Saint Mary's in scoring in each of the previous two years and also won a gold medal at the World University Games for Team Canada in Italy in 2006.
In the classroom, Marc's performance is equally impressive with a 3.91 GPA as a fourth year Finance student. He is on the Dean's List and has been an Academic all-Canadian in each of his previous three years. He has been the recipient of the Bob Dauphinee award, Sobeys Leadership award, Austin Hayes award and the Academic Achievement award, all recognizing him for his academic achievements. He was also the Saint Mary's nominee for the prestigious James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award this year.
In the community, Marc has given his time at Westmount Public school annually to read to 3rd graders, helped with a local PAL program for kids less fortunate and given his time weekly to minor hockey while studying at Saint Mary's.
"Marc has prevailed at the world level, led the country in scoring and has had a positive impact locally in the classroom, on the ice and in the community," said head coach Trevor Stienburg. "He could be one of the most skilled players ever to play in CIS hockey."
OUA
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is pleased to announce the 2008-09 men's hockey All-Stars and major award winners.
Fourth-year right wing Jonathan Boutin (La Pocatiere, Que.) of the UQTR Patriotes is the East Most Valuable Player. Boutin led the conference with 52 points, 21 goals and 31 assists. He also headlines the East First Team All-Stars. The men's hockey MVP awards is presented by Harrow Sports Canada Ltd.
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks centre Mark Voakes (St. Thomas, Ont.) is the West Most Valuable Player. The fifth-year forward led all OUA players in assists with 37 and finished third in the conference scoring race with 50 points. He also scored 13 goals. Voakes is also a member of the West First Team All-Stars.
Alexandre Picard-Hooper (Boucherville, Que.) of the McGill Redmen is East Rookie of the Year. The forward led all OUA rookies with 36 points, scoring 10 goals and adding 26 assists. He also headlines the East All-Rookie Team, and was named to the East Second Team All-Stars.
UOIT Ridgebacks forward Josh Vatri (Erie Otters, 2005-08) is the top rookie in the West. He led all conference freshmen with 32 points and 15 goals while adding 17 assists. He is also a member of the West All-Rookie Team.
Dan McDonald (Plymouth Whalers & Kingston Frontenacs, 2001-05) of the Ottawa Gee-Gees is the Most Sportsmanlike Player in the East. The fourth-year centre scored 14 goals and earned 27 assists during the 2008-09 regular season. McDonald averaged just 1.6 minutes in penalties in 25 games. He is also a member of the East First Team All-Stars.
Fifth-year right wing Salvatore Peralta (Windsor Spitfires & Miss. St. Michael’s Majors, 2000-04) of the Western Mustangs is the West Most Sportsmanlike Player. Peralta scored nine goals, including three on the power play, and assisted on 19 others. Peralta sat in the penalty box for just 10 minutes in 28 games. He was also named to the West Second Team All-Stars.
Eric L'Italien (Ste. Foy, Que.) of McGill is the recipient of the Randy Gregg Award in the East for his achievements in hockey, academics, and community service. A solid two-way player, L'Italien, a fifth-year right wing, earned 13 points in 17 regular season games. An Academic All-Canadian, the second-year law student is involved in numerous organizations as a volunteer to promote the importance of school and sports with youth groups. He also volunteers his time for legal advice to McGill students, among other supporting groups to the McGill community.
Andrew Brown (Guelph Storm & Belleville Bulls, 1999-04) of the Lakehead Thunderwolves earned the West's Randy Gregg Award. An Academic All-Canadian, Brown is currently working on his Bachelor of Education after earning his Honours Degree in Geography last year. Among the various causes Brown volunteers with included gathering donations at a Thunderwolves home game to deliver medical supplies to medical clinics in Africa. The fifth-year forward earned 20 points in 26 regular season games.
McGill's Martin Raymond is the East Coach of the Year. The Redmen lost 10 players from their Queen's Cup championship team last season, but McGill still finished in second place in the Far East Division with a record of 18-8-1-1 and concluded the regular season winning eight of their last nine games.
First-year head coach Kevin Hamlin of the Windsor Lancers is the West Coach of the Year. Hamlin's team finished with a 13-13-0-2 record, a 15-point turnaround from 2007-08. Their 28 points were more than double their total from the previous season (13). The Lancers finished two points shy of a potential playoff berth.
Joining Boutin and McDonald as First Team All-Stars in the East include fellow forward Alexandre Demers (Laurier-Station, Que.) of the Patriotes; defencemen Tommy Lafontaine (Cherterville, Que.) of UQTR and Ed Snetsinger (Ajax, Ont.) of the Toronto Varsity Blues; and goaltender Brady Morrison (Kingston Frontenacs & Ottawa 67s, 2004-07) of the Queen's Gaels.
West First Team All-Stars alongside Voakes include forwards Chris Ray (Kelowna, B.C.) of the Waterloo Warriors and Jean-Michel Rizk (Saginaw Spirit & Kitchener Rangers, 2002-07) of the Golden Hawks; defencemen Chris Petrow (Oshawa Generals & Kingston Frontenacs, 2001-05) of the Mustangs and Kyle Sonnenburg (Belleville Bulls & Brampton Battalion, 2003-07) of the Warriors; and goaltender Jim Watt (Edmonton, Alta.) of the Lancers.
Joining Picard-Hooper as Second Team All-Stars in the East include forwards Mike Baslyk (Montreal, Que.) of the Concordia Stingers and Sam Bloom (Toronto, Ont.) of the Redmen; defencemen Ken Morin (St. Prosper, Que.) of McGill and Brendan Sherrard (Toronto, Ont.) of the Varsity Blues; and goaltender Jean-Christophe Blanchard (Trois-Rivieres, Que.) of UQTR. Blanchard is also a member of the East All-Rookie Team.
West Second Team All-Stars in addition to Peralta include forwards Brock McPherson (Brampton Battalion, 2003-06) of Lakehead and Nick Vergeer (West Lorne, Ont.) of Laurier; defencemen Ryan Martinelli (London Knights, 2004-07) of Western and Jordan Smith (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, 2001-05) of Lakehead; and goaltender Jeff MacDougald (Peterborough Petes, 2002-05) of Laurier.
Joining Picard-Hooper and Blanchard as members of the East All-Rookie Team include forwards Nicolas D'Aoust (Lorraine, Que.) of Concordia and Byron Elliott (Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, 2006-08) of the Varsity Blues; and defencemen Christian Bourdeau-Mifflen (Ottawa, Ont.) of Carleton and Marc-Andre Dorion (St-Hubert, Que.) of McGill.
Forwards Kevin Baker (Owen Sound & Sudbury Wolves, 2003-08) of Western and Scott Restoule (Sarnia Sting & Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, 2004-06) of York; defencemen Phil Magistrale (Tsawwassen, B.C.) of Laurier and Mike Noyes (London Knights, 2005-07) of UOIT; and goaltender Pier-Olivier Pelletier (Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, Que.) of Waterloo join Vatri as members of the West All-Rookie Team.