March 5, 2010

Pure Hockey Co-Players of the Year Kelly Paton of New Hampshire and Florence Schelling of Northeastern

WAKEFIELD, Mass. - The Women's Hockey East Association announced on Friday night at the annual Championship Awards banquet that New Hampshire senior forward Kelly Paton (Woodstock, Ont.) and Northeastern sophomore goaltender Florence Schelling (Oberengstringen, Switzerland) have been named recipents of the Cammi Granato Award as Pure Hockey Co-Players of the Year.

Paton and Schelling were unanimous WHEA First-Team All-Star selections for their outstanding play this season and were also named Top 10 Patty Kazmaier finalists on Tuesday by USA Hockey. Paton posted a career-high 51 points in her senior season, which included 32 points in league play, which was second best among league skaters. She earned WHEA Player of the Month honors a league-high three times this season. Paton tallied a point in 27 of 31 games with 12 multiple-point efforts on the season. Schelling was crowned the Bauer Goaltending Champion with a 1.50 GAA and .946 save percentage in league play for the Huskies, leading the team to a school best second place finish in the conference standings. She rankes tied for third in the NCAA with a .949 save percentage and ranks fifth in goals-against average (1.37). Schelling was named WHEA Goaltender of the Month for October and November and she was honored as WHEA Defensive Player of the Week a league bst seven times in 2009-10.

In addition to Paton and Schelling, Providence College head coach Bob Deraney was named WHEA Coach of Year for the first time since the league was formed eight seasons ago. He led the Friars to the first-place finish in the league standings with 11 victories and 30 total points, after being selected fourth in the preseason coaches poll.

UNH rookie forward Kristina Lavoie (Fonthill, Ont.) was tabbed the the Bauer Rookie of the Year as she helped the Wildcats to a second place finish and a first round bye in the WHEA Tournament. Lavoie was the top scoring first year player in the league with 20 points and her her 14 goals were best in league play. She earned Bauer Rookie of the Month honors in December and January this season. At one point during the season, she had scored a goal in 11 straight contests.

Boston University sophomore defenseman Kasey Boucher (Lewiston, Maine) took home the WHEA Sportsmanship Award given annually to the league player who has consistently played at a high level,while maintaining high standard of conduct both on and off the ice. Boucher only earned four penalty minutes in league play to go along with five points and a +7 plus/minus rating in league play.

Senior netminder Ashley Leichliter (West Chester, Pa.) of the BU Terriers earned the 2010 Turfer Athletic Award, presented annually to an individual, coach or team who best represents the core values of Turfer Athletics; tenacity, commitment and innovation. She was originally cut from the women's team and played on the BU men's club team, but then made the roster the past three seasons. Leichliter has maintained a 3.29 GPA and will look to be accepted to medical school after graduation. She is also a member of BU's Student Athlete Academic Counsel (SAAC) that helps coordinate department activities, community projects and life skills for many of the student-athletes.

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 an 10 team men's league which began play in 1984-1985.

Cammi Granato Award/Pure Hockey CO- PlayerS of the Year Kelly Paton, UNH (Sr., F, Woodstock, Ont.) Florence Schelling, NU (So., G, Oberengstringen, Swizterland) Runner-Up: Cristin Allen, UConn (Sr., D, Pickering, Ont.)
BAUER ROOKIE of the Year Kristina Lavoie, UNH (Forward, Fonthill, Ont.) Runner-Up: Jill Cardella, BU (Forward, Rochester, N.Y.)
Coach of the Year Bob Deraney, Providence College Runner-Up: Linda Lundrigan, Lauren McAuliffe, NU
GLADIATOR HOCKEY BEST DEFENSIVE FORWARD Jennifer Chaisson, UConn (Junior, Cumberland, Ont.) Runner-Up: Annie Hogan, NU (Sr., Medford, Mass.)
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD Kasey Boucher, BU (So., D, Lewiston, Maine) Runner-Up: Amy Stech, Maine (Sr., Duluth, Minn.)
TURFER ATHLETIC Award Ashley Leichliter, BU (Sr., G, West Chester, Pa.)

Bauer Rookie of the Year Kristina Lavoie from New Hampshire

Coach of the Year Bob Deraney of Providence College