2011-12 AUS Men's Hockey Awards and All-Stars Announced
March 7, 2012 (HALIFAX, N.S.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2011-12 AUS men's hockey major award winners and all-stars as selected by the conference's eight head coaches following regular season play.
Third-year Acadia forward Andrew Clark was named the Atlantic University Sport most valuable player, Wednesday.
Other AUS major award winners announced today were StFX's Michael Kirkpatrick of North Sydney, N.S., who was named rookie of the year; Dean Ouellet of the Moncton Aigles Bleus, who was selected as the most sportsmanlike player; UNB's Kyle Bailey of Ponoka, Alta., who received the student-athlete community service award; and Moncton head coach Serge Bourgeois, who was named the AUS coach of the year for the first time in his career.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (Kelly Trophy): Andrew Clark, Acadia
The Atlantic University Sport men's hockey most valuable player is Andrew Clark of the Acadia Axemen.
Clark, a third-year forward from Brandon, Man., led the Atlantic conference in scoring this season with 39 points in 28 games played. Andrew, also named a first team all-star today, netted 15 goals and added 24 assists this year, including tying for the league lead with four game-winning goals.
He becomes the fourth Axemen player to claim the Kelly Trophy since 1979-80 and the first Acadia league MVP since Kevin Baker was named the conference's top player in 2005-06.
In just three seasons of university hockey, Clark, a former star with the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings, has already accumulated 99 career points in 83 career regular season games played.
"We are very proud of Andrew's accomplishments this year and he is a tremendous leader for our hockey club," said Acadia head coach Darren Burns. "To be in on over 40 percent of our goals is truly a remarkable statistic. His approach to the game is very refreshing as he is a very unselfish player who's only concern is team success. Even more impressive was his ability to help so many first year players get acclimatized to university life and the game itself."
Andrew will represent the conference at the CIS Championship banquet this month as the AUS nominee for the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as the nation's top player. The Atlantic conference has claimed the past three of the past four CIS player of the year awards, with UNB's Hunter Tremblay as the most recent recipient in 2009-10.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (A.J. MacAdam Trophy): Michael Kirkpatrick, StFX
The Atlantic conference rookie of the year and recipient of the A.J. MacAdam Trophy for 2011-12 is StFX X-Men forward Michael Kirkpatrick.
In just his first year with the StFX program, Kirkpatrick, a native of North Sydney, N.S., played in all 28 games for the X-Men, finishing tied for the team lead in scoring with last season's CIS rookie of the year Jason Bast.
Michael's 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points, tied him for eighth overall in AUS scoring, and his seven power-play play goals ranked fourth in the conference.
"Michael has made a significant impact on our team and in our conference in his rookie season," said StFX head coach Brad Peddle. "He is an extremely smart player who competes on both sides of the puck with a great work ethic. Leading a team in scoring is a great accomplishment for any first-year player. Michael plays in all situations for us, both PP and PK and is also very good in the faceoff circle, taking many key draws. He will definitely be a very good player in our league for the next few years."
Michael, who played for the QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs prior to joining the X-Men, will now look to become the third StFX player to be selected as the CIS rookie of the year. Bast was the 2010-11 winner and former StFX star Peter Lisy won the CIS award following the 1987-88 season.
COACH OF THE YEAR (Bob Boucher Trophy): Serge Bourgeois, Moncton
In his just his third season as head coach of the Moncton program since taking over from Bob Mongrain in 2009-10, Serge Bourgeois has been selected by his peers as the 2011-12 AUS coach of the year.
Coming off a season in which the Aigles Bleus finished in seventh place in 2010-11 with a 10-15-3 record, coach Bourgeois guided his squad an impressive 18-9-1 regular season record this year and a third place finish in the Atlantic conference standings with 37 points.
Bourgeois, a former player with the Aigles Bleus, now has a career regular season record of 37-40-7. His overall record (regular season and post-season), including last week's semifinal series victory over Saint Mary's now stands at 42-44-7.
Moncton, currently ranked fifth in CIS, faces off against top-ranked UNB this week in the Subway AUS men's hockey championship best-of-five final.
"'Coach Bourgeois did an outstanding job bringing this team to a third place finish during the regular season and to the finals of the AUS,'' said Université de Moncton Athletic Director, Marc Boudreau. ''He introduced a number of changes in his systems that played an important part in the team's success. His recruitment efforts were also rewarded by players who performed both academically and on the ice. Serge is well respected by his peers and the hockey community and I am proud of his accomplishments."
The last Moncton head coach to be named AUS coach of the year was Bob Mongrain, who took home the honour in both 2008-09 and 2006-07.
MOST SPORTSMANLIKE PLAYER (Don Wells Trophy): Dean Ouellet, Moncton
Moncton forward Dean Ouellet has been chosen as the Atlantic University Sport most sportsmanlike player and recipient of the Don Wells Trophy.
Ouellet, a fourth-year forward from Edmunston, N.B., finished third in AUS scoring with six goals and a league-leading 28 assists for 34 points in 28 games this season. In four seasons with the Aigles Bleus, Dean has racked up 118 career points in 109 career regular season games.
As one of the league's top players, he is often covered very closely by top defenders on opposing teams, yet he remains very disciplined. Ouellet picked up just five minor penalties this season.
"Dean had an outstanding season with the Aigles Bleus,'' said Moncton head coach Serge Bourgeois. ''His offensive and defensive skills were put to the test numerous times and he stepped up his play while his team mates were out with injuries. He played between 23 and 30 minutes per game and was a workhorse for the team. He was an excellent leader both on and off the ice.''
Ouellet is the first Aigles Bleus recipient of this award since Jean-Francois Gregoire was named the inaugural AUS most sportsmanlike player following the 1996-97 season.
STUDENT-ATHLETE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD (The Godfrey Award): Kyle Bailey, UNB
UNB's Kyle Bailey is the 2011-12 Atlantic conference recipient of the Godfrey Award and is nominated for the prestigious Dr. Randy Gregg 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.
Bailey, a fifth-year forward from Ponoka, Alta., who is currently enrolled in the MBA program at UNB, was also the 2009-10 Godfrey Award recipient.
Kyle, the team captain, finished fourth in AUS scoring this season with 16 goals and 17 points in 27 games played, including three game-winners and a league-leading 10 power-play markers. He wraps up his stellar five-year career with 65 goals, 88 assists and 153 points in 138 career regular season games with the Varsity Reds.
In addition to his academic and athletic commitments, Kyle participates in both the "Read with the Reds" program (student-athletes work on literacy program with kindergarten children) as well as the "Heads Up with the Reds" program at UNB which sees varsity athletes talking about "Respect" "Education", "Dedication" and Strategy to local elementary school children.
Bailey is a volunteer in the weekly Special Olympics floor hockey program as well as community hockey camps, and is a role mentor and volunteer for the UNB V-Reds Prospects hockey program. This year Kyle also organized a special Big Brothers night for one of UNB's games along with a dressing room visit for several of these youth.
Indicative of his desire to help others was his recent initiative during the "Make A Significant Difference Day" when he spearheaded a team purchase of a new suit for UNB's long time dressing room attendant.
"Kyle is an outstanding player for our team but as good as he is on the ice, he is an even better person and wholeheartedly represents our program in the most professional manner possible," says UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall. "Our team has a major profile in the city which gives us the opportunity to give back to the community and the young hockey players that have the same dreams our guys do. Kyle and his teammates' involvement in the community is a key to helping these children grow their dreams. Kyle is also outstanding in the classroom as indicated by his four-time Academic all-Canadian status and is currently on target to achieve this honour for a fifth time."
FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
The Atlantic University Sport first and second team all-stars were also announced today, along with this year's all-rookie team.
First Team All-Stars:
Goaltender: Anthony Peters, Saint Mary's (1st year - Blyth, Ont.)
Defence: Chris Owens, Acadia (2nd year - St. John's, Nfld.)
Defence: Jonathan Harty, UNB (4th year - Oromocto, N.B.)
Forward: Andrew Clark, Acadia (3rd year - Brandon, Man.)
Forward: Dean Ouellet, Moncton (4th year - Edmundston, N.B.)
Forward: Jared Gomes, UPEI (3rd year - Mississauga, Ont.)
Second Team All-Stars:
Goaltender: Pierre-Alexandre Marion, Moncton (4th year - Gatineau, Que.)
Defence: Bretton Stamler, UNB (4th year - Edmonton, Alta.)
Defence: David MacDonald, Dalhousie (5th year - Baddeck, N.S.)
Forward: Kyle Bailey, UNB (5th year - Ponoka, Alta.)
Forward: Matt Carter, UPEI (4th year - Mississauga, Ont.)
Forward: Colby Pridham, Saint Mary's (4th year - Alberton, P.E.I.)
All Rookie Team:
Goaltender: Anthony Peters, Saint Mary's (Blyth, Ont.)
Defence: Mike D'Orazio, Saint Mary's (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
Defence: Samuel Groulx, Moncton (Gatineau, Que.)
Forward: Michael Kirkpatrick, StFX (North Sydney, N.S.)
Forward: Tyler Carroll, UNB (Strathroy, Ont.)
Forward: Chris Desousa, UPEI (Mississauga, Ont.)
The 2012 Subway Atlantic University Sport men's hockey championship opens tonight at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, N.B.
The championship schedule for the final series (best 3-of-5) is as follows:
Game 1: Wednesday, March 7th – Moncton at UNB, 7:00pm
Game 2: Thursday, March 8th – Moncton at UNB, 7:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 11th – UNB at Moncton, 7:00pm
Game 4: Tuesday, March 13th – UNB at Moncton, 7:00pm*
Game 5: Thursday, March 15th – Moncton at UNB, 7:00pm*
(*if necessary)
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For further information, please visit www.atlanticuniversitysport.com, or contact:
John Keefe
Communications Manager
Atlantic University Sport
P: 902 425 4235
E: jkeefe@atlanticuniversitysport.com
Website: www.atlanticuniversitysport.com