March 2, 2012

NU's Florence Schelling was a unanimous selection as WHEA Player of the Year

Hyannis, Mass. -- The Women's Hockey East Association announced at the annual Championship Awards banquet that Northeastern senior goaltender Florence Schelling (Oberengstringen, Switzerland) was named the unanimous recipient of the Cammi Granato Award, as Athletic Player of the Year for the second time in her career on Friday night at the Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis, Mass.

In addition to Schelling's award, Maine's Maria Lewis and Northeastern's Dave Flint were voted as Co-Coach of Year and Northeastern University forward Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.) took home Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year honors, marking the first Husky player in the program's history to receive that distinction.

Schelling, the WHEA Goaltending Champion and Army ROTC Three Stars Award winner, finished league play with a 15-3-3 record to go along with a 1.27 GAA and .956 save percentage, a new league single-season record and six shutouts. Her 580 saves this season ranks sixth all-time among conference netminders. She allowed two goals or less in 17 of her 21 league starts and amassed 30+ saves on eight occasions for the No. 1 seed Huskies. Schelling finished Hockey East play with a .940 career save percentage, which is now a new league benchmark and 1731 career saves, ranking fourth all-time among conference netminders.

Lewis led Maine to their best season in Hockey East finishing in a tie for fourth place, posting 11 conference wins with 24 points, while Flint led Northeastern to its first regular-season title in school history with a 15-3-3 record and 33 points in the league standings. It's the second time in the conference's history that coaches have shared the award, the only other occasion was in 2004-2005.

Coyne led league play with 19 goals in 19 games for the top seed Northeastern Huskies. Her 30 points and 19 goals by a freshman were second most in league history to go along with a league best +27 plus/minus rating. She notched a point in 17 of 19 league contests for the Huskies and recorded seven multi-point efforts in conference action. Coyne's 133 shots were second most in league play.

The Women's Hockey East Association is an eight-team, Division-I college hockey conference which began play in 2002-2003, with offices based in Wakefield, Mass. The league also sponsors a 10 team men's league which began play in 1984-1985.

2011-12 WHEA Major Award Winners
* - Unanimous selection Runner-Up: Jenn Wakefield, Boston University (Sr., F, Pickering, Ont.)	Runner-Up: Alex Carpenter, Boston College (F, North Reading, Mass.)
Runner-Up: Katie King Crowley, Boston College