First year Guelph Gryphons forward Christine Grant (Mississauga, Ont.) was named the 2012-13 CIS women's hockey rookie of the year tonight (March 6) at the All-Canadian Banquet held in Toronto. Grant was also named to the all-rookie team, meanwhile forward Amanda Parkins (Kitchener, Ont.) was named a first-team all-Canadian.  
 
Grant became the first-ever Guelph player to capture CIS rookie-of-the-year honours.  The 5-foot-6 right winger played in all 26 league contests for the Gryphons in her university debut. She tallied 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points, good for fourth in OUA scoring and ninth in the nation, while playing a very disciplined game and spending only eight minutes in the penalty box. The environmental engineering student, who was voted to the second OUA all-star team, was a major contributor as Guelph finished second in the conference with a stellar 21-3-2 record, thanks in part to a 14-game win streak. 
 
"Christine is an explosive forward with the ability to finish plays around the net," said Gryphon head coach Rachel Flanagan. "She distributes the puck well then gets in position to get it back. She plays with the patience usually seen from a senior player and has a great shot from in tight and from outside lanes."
 
The other nominees for the CIS award were Saint Mary's goalie Sienna Cooke, as well as forwards Gabrielle Davidson of McGill and Jessica Kampjes of Alberta.
 
The 2013 CIS championship gets underway Thursday at Varsity Arena on the campus of the University of Toronto and culminates Sunday at 7 p.m. with the gold-medal final. All nine games from the tournament will be webcast live on www.CIS-SIC.tv.
 
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/index
 
 
2012-13 CIS WOMEN'S HOCKEY AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
Brodrick Trophy (player of the year): Mélodie Daoust, McGill
Rookie of the year: Christine Grant, Guelph
Coach of the year: Graham Thomas, UBC
Marion Hilliard Award (hockey, academics & community service): Kayla Blackmore, St. Thomas
 
First Team 
Pos. – Athlete – University – Year – Hometown - Faculty 
G - Kelly Campbell – Western – 2 - St. Thomas, Ont. – Business
D – Katelyn Gosling – Western – 2 – London, Ont. – Social Sciences
D – Stephanie Ramsay – Calgary – 4 – Arts – Charlottetown, PEI
F - Mélodie Daoust – McGill – 2 – Valleyfield, Que. – Ph. & Health Education
F – Hayley Wickenheiser – Calgary – 3 – Shaunavon, Sask – Kinesiology
F – Amanda Parkins – Guelph – 1 – Kitchener, Ont. – Sociology  

Second Team
G – Danielle Dube – UBC – 2 – New Westminster, BC – Arts
D – Caitlin MacDonald – Manitoba – 4 – Winnipeg, Man. Business
D – Sophie Brault – Montreal – 4 – St-Jean, Que – Business Admin.
F – Katia Clement-Heydra – McGill – 3 – St.Bruno, Que. – Industrial Relations
F – Alex Normore – StFX – 3 – Bedford, NS – Human Kinetics
F – Morgan McHaffie – Queen's – 4 – Guelph, Ont. – Ph & Health Education
 
All-Rookie Team
G – Sienna Cooke – Saint Mary's – 1 – Surrey, BC – Arts
D – Alexis Larson – Regina – 1 – Weyburn, Sask. – Nursing
D – Maude Laramee – Ottawa – 1 – Hull, Que. – Communication
F – Christine Grant – Guelph – 1 – Mississauga, Ont. – Engineering
F – Gabrielle Davidson – McGill – 1 – Pointe-Claire, Que. – General Management
F – Jessica Kampjes – Alberta – 1 – Sturgeon County, Alta. – Open Studies