2021-22 AUS women’s hockey major awards and all-stars announced

Saint Mary’s Huskies forward Shae Demale named MVP

(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2021-22 AUS women's hockey all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's eight head coaches.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Shae Demale, SMU Huskies
Shae Demale, a third-year forward with the Saint Mary’s Huskies, is the 2021-22 AUS most valuable player. She played in all 21 of the Huskies’ regular-season games.

A science student from Red Deer, Alberta, Demale finished the AUS regular-season with a conference-leading 25 points, the second-most scored in the country. She recorded 13 goals (ranking her number two in the AUS and third in the country), 12 assists and four power-play goals.

Demale is the seventh player from Saint Mary’s to win the conference MVP award. Former Huskies winners include Courtney Schriver (2005-06) and Lindsay Taylor (2003-04, 2004-05). With this win, she becomes the AUS nominee for the Brodrick Trophy as U SPORTS player of the year. The most recent AUS student-athlete to be named the national player of the year was STFX’s Tyra Meropoulis in 2019-20.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Abby Lewis, STFX X-Women
Abby Lewis, a first-year forward from Kanata, Ontario, is the AUS women's hockey rookie of the year. Lewis, who was also named to the AUS all-rookie team today, played in all 21 regular-season games for the X-Women.

The human kinetics student recorded 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in her rookie season, helping the X-Women finish third in regular-season play, with a 15-6-0-0 record. Lewis also had two game-winning goals and plus/minus of +7.

She is the fifth player from the X-Women to be named the conference’s top rookie. The last STFX player to take home the honour was Emerson Elliott in 2017-18. Lewis now looks to become the fourth AUS player to be selected as the U SPORTS rookie of the year. STFX's Alexa Normore (2010-11) was the last player from the Atlantic conference to win the national award.

MOST SPORTSMANLIKE PLAYER: Ashley Stratton, UNB REDS
For the second consecutive time, Atlantic University Sport’s most sportsmanlike player is Ashley Stratton of the UNB REDS. This award recognizes an individual who maintains the standards of fair play and treats those around her with respect at all times.

Stratton, a fourth-year kinesiology student from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland., appeared in all 21 regular-season games for the REDS. Her 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) are the fifth-most scored this season in the AUS and sit her 10^th in the country. With 65 career points, this year she became UNB’s all-time scoring leader for women’s hockey.

Stratton’s win marks the third time a UNB player has been recognized with this award.

TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Jenna MacLean, UNB REDS
Established in 2016-17, this award is given to a skater who consistently excels in defensive aspects of the game and displays strong play in all areas of the ice individually and as part of their team's defensive tactics. The top defensive player for the 2021-22 regular season is Jenna MacLean of the UNB REDS.

A science student in her third year of eligibility, MacLean helped the REDS to finish the regular season at the top of the AUS standings with a 15-3-1-2 record. She played in all 21 games for UNB, recording 16 assists (the second-most in the conference and the third-most in the country) and 17 points. The REDS ended the season with the third-highest penalty kill percentage in the league (90.9%.)

MacLean was selected as the winner of this award based upon criteria such as faceoffs, blocked shots, forechecking, rush-zone defending, penalty killing, and shutting down the opposition's top players. She is the first player from the REDS to be named the league's top defensive player.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Jana Headrick, UNB REDS
The AUS student-athlete community service award recipient for the 2021-22 season is Jana Headrick of the UNB REDS. This award honours the individual who best combines academics, athletics and community involvement.

The fifth-year defender from Garden River First Nation in Ontario came to the REDS after playing four seasons with the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and has since been a role model and difference-maker for both her team and the community. A master’s student in sports and recreation studies, Jana maintained a 4.3 GPA in the fall semester and played in all 21 regular-season games with the REDS. She recorded two goals, six assists and a +5 plus/minus.

Inspired by her own experience as a young Indigenous athlete, Headrick organized and executed a six-week Indigenous Girls Learn to Play hockey camp run by the REDS. In order to provide a cost-free opportunity for aspiring athletes to learn about the game, she worked closely with partners at KidSport and the Brendon Oreto Foundation to raise over $13,000, as well as equipment. This meant all participants—who ranged in age from six to 10—were provided free gear head-to-toe. Headrick also secured enough government funding to allow camp participants to join Fredericton’s female hockey league free of charge.

She is the second player from UNB to win this award and will now represent the conference as the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS Marion Hilliard Award. The last AUS student-athlete to take home the national honour was St. Thomas' Kayla Blackmore following the 2012-13 season.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Sarah Hilworth, UNB REDS
UNB REDS head coach Sarah Hilworth has been selected by her peers as the 2021-22 AUS coach of the year. This is Hilworth’s first AUS coach of the year win and the first time in AUS history a UNB coach has won this award.

Hilworth, who is in her fifth season with the REDS, led UNB to finish first in the regular-season standings with a 15-3-1-2 record. They closed out the 2021-22 regular season with 65 goals, 115 assists and 3.10 goals per game. The REDS led the AUS in both power-play percentage (23.6) and save percentage (.940).

Hilworth now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS coach of the year award. The last AUS coach to win the national honour was Chris Larade, who was chosen in back-to-back seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

2021-22 AUS Women's Hockey All-Stars

First Team All-Stars
Goaltender: Kendra Woodland, UNB  (3^rd year, Kamloops, BC)
Defence:  Lauren Dabrowski, STFX (2^nd year, Tiny, ON)
Defence: Jenna MacLean, UNB  (3^rd year, Wilcox, SK)
Forward: Shae Demale, Saint Mary’s  (3^rd year, Red Deer, AB)
Forward: Maggy Burbidge, STFX  (2^nd year, Falmouth, NS)
Forward: Jolena Gillard, UPEI (3^rd year, Deer Lake, NL)

Second Team All-Stars
Goaltender: Caroline Pietroski, St. Thomas (2^nd year, Etobicoke, ON)
Defence: Aislynn Byers, St. Thomas (2^nd year, Melancthon, ON)
Defence: Alexandra Woods, St. Thomas (5^th year, Courtice, ON)
Forward: Ashley Stratton, UNB (3^rd year, Mount Pearl, NL)
Forward: Lea MacLeod, STFX  (3^rd year, Dartmouth, NS)
Forward: Tyra Meropoulis, STFX (3^rd year, Edson, AB)

All-Rookie Team
Goaltender: Amaya Giraudier, StFX (1^st year, Assiniboia, AB)
Defence: Maddy Corbett, Saint Mary’s (1^st year, Sydney, NS)
Defence: Ella VandeSompel, StFX  (1^st year, London, ON)
Forward: Abby Lewis, StFX  (1^st year, Kanata, ON)
Forward: Payton Hargreaves, UNB  (1^st year, Whitby, ON)
Forward: Kara MacLean, Saint Mary’s  (1^st year, Antigonish, NS)

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The Subway AUS women's hockey playoffs, presented by Bell Aliant begin tonight, Wednesday, March 9, with four single-elimination quarterfinal match-ups.

The schedule for the women’s quarterfinals is as follows:

Mount Allison (8) at UNB (1), 7pm

Dalhousie (7) at Saint Mary’s (2), 7pm

Moncton (6) at STFX (3), 7pm

St. Thomas (5) at UPEI (4), 7pm

All quarterfinal games will be webcast live at AUStv.ca. Details on the best-of-three semifinal series’ will follow the completion of this round.