OUA ANNOUNCES MEN'S HOCKEY EAST DIVISION MAJOR AWARDS AND ALL-STARS
HAMILTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is pleased to recognize the 2012-13 OUA men’s hockey east division major award winners and all-stars.
For the first time since the 2008-09 season a member of the UQTR Patriotes takes home OUA East MVP honours. Félix Petit (Jonquiere, Que.) had an impressive year for UQTR, guiding the squad to a 21-6-1 record and first place in the OUA East. Petit led his team in scoring, and his 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists) was tops in the East Division, second in both the OUA and CIS. The fourth-year business administration student used his play-making ability to collect points in bursts, including a six-game point streak in late November that saw him three goals and 10 assists in that span. Petit was also named an OUA East first team all-star for the second time, after collecting the same honour a year ago.
Mitch Porowski (Ottawa) becomes the first major award winner from Carleton University since the Ravens entered OUA hockey in 2007, as he was named OUA East rookie of the Year. In his inaugural OUA campaign Porowski collected 19 goals and 19 assists which was tops among east division rookies, 14 points ahead of second place. His 38 points ranked the arts student sixth overall in the OUA. For his efforts, Porowski was also named a first team all-star and a member of the east’s all-rookie team.
The top goalie in the OUA East comes from the Nipissing Lakers. Dan Spence (Langley, B.C.) becomes the first Laker goalie to take home the award after he posted a .915 save percentage and 2.93 goals against average en route to 13 wins. Spence helped the Lakers to sixth place in the OUA East and their fourth consecutive playoff appearance. Spence was also named a second team all-star.
For the third consecutive season a member of the Queen’s Gaels is the OUA East Randy Gregg Award nominee. The Randy Gregg award goes to the player who best exhibits outstanding achievement in hockey, academics and community involvement. This year’s award goes to Gaels goalie Riley Whitlock (Calgary, Alta.). In addition to playing over 1,400 minutes and finishing second in saves in the CIS, Whitlock shines in the classroom and in the community. The fifth-year goalie volunteers his time with several youth hockey programs in the Kingston area as well as working with the grade three students at Frontenac Public school in Kingston. Whitlock holds a strong GPA and will graduate with a Juris Doctor in law in 2013.
UQTR’s Pierre-Luc Lessard (Thetford Mines, Que.) was honoured with two major awards this season. The fourth-year business administration student was named OUA East top defenceman as well as the division’s most sportsmanlike player. Lessard led all OUA blueliners in scoring, collecting 31 points on five goals and 26 helpers, while receiving only eight minutes in penalties through the year. Lessard was also named a first team all-star for the second consecutive season, after being named to the second team in 2010-11.
Rounding out the major award winners is Patriotes coach Gilles Bouchard, who was named the east division Coach of the Year. In his first season as Patriotes head coach, Bouchard led the team to a 43 point season, 21 wins and had his team ranked as high as third in the CIS poll, finishing the season ranked fourth.
Joining Petit, Lessard and Porowski on the first all-star team are Toronto forward Jeff Brown, Ottawa defenceman Dominic Jalbert and UQTR goalie Guillaume Nadeau. In his second CIS season and first with Toronto, Brown (Toronto) had 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points, topping the Varsity Blues in all three categories. He was instrumental in lifting Toronto to 13-9-6 regular season record, good enough for fifth place in the OUA East, and a playoff berth. Jalbert (Gatineau, Que.) finished second among defencemen in the OUA in scoring, collecting 28 points on eight goals and 20 assists. The third-year blueliner finds himself a first team all-star for the second time in his career, after also receiving the honour in his rookie season in 2010-11. Nadeau (St-Jean-Chrysostome, Que.) posted a 1.97 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and 11 wins in 13 games played for the first-place Patriotes. The all-star nod is the first postseason honour in the career of the second year goalie.
The OUA East second all-star team consists of Spence, his Nipissing teammate Connor O’Donnell, Carleton Ravens teammates Jeff Hayes and Matt Stanisz and McGill rearguard Ryan McKiernan and Ottawa forward Luc-Olivier Blain.
O’Donnell (Hamilton, Ont.) posted 34 points this season to pace the Lakers. The third-year forward posted his second straight 30-plus point season in helping Nipissing to their sixth place finish in the OUA East. The second team nod is the first postseason award for O’Donnell.
Hayes and Stanisz finished second and third respectively in scoring for the Carleton Ravens. Hayes, a third year forward from Ottawa, accounted for 33 on a balanced 17 goals and 16 assists while second-year blueliner Stanisz (Burlington, Ont.) had six goals and 21 assists which was third in points by a defenceman in the OUA.
Blain (Longueuil, Que.) had another productive year for the Gee-Gees. After being named to the OUA East all-rookie team in 2010-11 the third year forward has been named an all-star for the first time. Blain averaged 1.29 points per game, collecting seven goals and 20 assists on the year and was third in total points for the Gee-Gees.
McKiernan represents the only member of the McGill Redman to be named an OUA East all-star this season. The third-year defenceman from White Plains, N.Y. played strong defensively while collecting eight goals and 13 assists for the defending CIS Champion Redmen, en route to the first all-star recognition of his OUA career.
Six different schools are represented on the OUA East all-rookie team this season. In addition to Carleton’s Porowski the squad includes forwards Patrick Delisle-Houde from McGill and Mathieu Ouellette from Ottawa, defenders Lane Werbowski from the University of Toronto and Youssef Kabbaj of the Concordia Stingers, and Royal Military College backstop Paul Dorsey.
Delisle-Houde (Quebec City, Que.)was second among OUA East rookies in scoring this year. His 24 points, on six goals and 18 assists was also topped his team as the Redmen battled to 17-7-4 regular season record and a third place finish in the division.
In his first OUA season Ouellette (Clarence Creek, Ont.), potted 11 goals and 14 assists, finishing fourth in scoring on an Ottawa team that featured eight players with 15 points or more. He also posted three power play goals on the year for the Gee-Gees, who finished fifth in the OUA East in power play percentage (19.3%).
Lane Werbowski (Winnipeg) had a strong rookie campaign for the Toronto Varsity Blues. In his debut season, Werbowski finished 10th among OUA blueliners in scoring, collected 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists.
The lone Concordia Stinger to receive a postseason honour this years was defenceman Youssef Kabbaj (Montreal). The rookie led Stingers defencemen in scoring, collecting four goals and eight assists. He used his vision on the ice to open up opportunities for teammates offensively, and was strong in his own end all year.
RMC goaltender Paul Dorsey rounds out the all-rookie team. The Ottawa native saw 1,448 minutes of action in 25 games this year for the Paladins. In his first OUA season, Dorsey faced more shots than any other goalie in the OUA, and recorded 877 saves, placing him second in the OUA and first in the east division.
OUA EAST DIVISION MAJOR AWARD WINNERS AND ALL-STARS
MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
MVP – Félix Petit (UQTR)
Defenceman of the Year – Pierre-Luc Lessard (UQTR)
Top Goaltender – Dan Spence (Nipissing)
Top Rookie – Mitch Porowski (Carleton)
Randy Gregg Award nominee – Riley Whitlock (Queen’s)
Most Sportsmanlike – Pierre-Luc Lessard (UQTR)
Coach of the Year – Gilles Bouchard (UQTR)
FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
G – Guillaume Nadeau (UQTR)
D – Pierre-Luc Lessard (UQTR)
D – Dominic Jalbert (Ottawa)
F – Félix Petit (UQTR)
F – Mitch Porowski (Carleton)
F – Jeff Brown (Toronto)
SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
G – Dan Spence (Nipissing)
D – Matt Stanisz (Carleton)
D – Ryan McKiernan (McGill)
F – Jeff Hayes (Carleton)
F – Connor O’Donnell (Nipissing)
F – Luc-Olivier Blain (Ottawa)
ALL ROOKIE TEAM
G – Paul Dorsey (RMC)
D – Lane Werbowski (Toronto)
D – Youssef Kabbaj (Concordia)
F – Mitch Porowski (Carleton)
F – Patrick Delisle-Houde (McGill)
F – Mathieu Ouellette (Ottawa)
