(MONTREAL, QC) UNB REDS goaltender Kendra Woodland (Kamloops, BC) has been awarded with the Brodrick Trophy as the U SPORTS Most Outstanding Women’s Hockey Player for the 2022-23 season.
The award was presented to Woodland at the U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship, in Montreal, on Wednesday evening.
“Winning this award is definitely not something that I made a goal for this season,” said Woodland. “My focus was more to contribute to our team’s success as much as possible and to go as far as we could this season. I’m very honoured to get this award and can’t thank all of my influencers and supporters enough for all the help throughout my journey so far.”
Woodland earns the most prestigious award in U SPORTS women’s hockey after posting an outstanding .960 save percentage, 1.10 goals against average and a 14-2-1-0 regular season record with the Atlantic University Sport champion REDS.
“We are incredibly proud of Kendra and all her accomplishments this year,” said UNB head coach Sarah Hilworth. “She came to UNB five years ago with determination and passion to put UNB on the map, and her performance this year certainly has helped our team get the national recognition we had hoped to achieve when building this year.”
“Kendra’s work ethic and attitude this year in preparation on and off the the ice, is something that we are very proud of,” added Hilworth. “We’re thrilled that she has been awarded such a prestigious award, and I know she has earned it! We are so proud of her and can’t wait to see what she continues to achieve here at UNB.”
Woodland becomes the first RED to win the award
“It’s hard to describe the feeling,” said Woodland. “I think it goes to show how much our alumni, coaches, and supporters have done to ensure that we have the best professional environment and program to succeed at UNB.”
Woodland, also named a U SPORTS 1st Team All-Canadian, was chosen over nominees from the RSEQ, OUA and Canada West.
“Kendra’s work ethic and attitude this year in preparation on and off the ice, is something that we are very proud of,” said Hilworth. “We are thrilled that she has been awarded such a prestigious award, and I know she has earned it. We are so proud of her and can’t wait to see what she continues to achieve here at UNB.”
Woodland and the REDS now shift their attention to their quarter-final match with the host Montreal Carabins, Thursday evening at 8:00pm (Atlantic) at Montreal’s CEPSUM ARENA. You can watch the game live at https://cbc.ca/player/sports/live
STORY BY: Evan Richtsfeld/UNB Athletics
PHOTO BY: James Hajjar/for U SPORTS