Guelph's Valerie Lamenta named CIS Player of the Year 

March 16, 2016

CALGARY, AB – There have been a lot of 'firsts' for the Gryphons Women's hockey team during the 2015-16 season. Back on November 17, 2015 they took over the No. 1 spot in the CIS rankings for the first time in program history. Four months later, they would win their first OUA title since 1998. And on Wednesday night (March 16) at the Sun Life Financial All-Canadian Banquet in Calgary, Gryphons sophomore goalie Valerie Lamenta was named the CIS Player of the Year. She becomes the first Gryphon to be named the recipient of the prestigious Brodrick Trophy as the country's player of the year.

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Lamenta, a second year mechanical engineering student, also becomes only the third netminder to receive the honour since the sport made its CIS debut in 1997-98, joining Liz Knox of Wilfrid Laurier (2010) and Olympic gold medallist Kim St-Pierre of McGill (2003). 

A native of Montreal, Lamenta was not a highly-recruited prospect following her CEGEP career at Édouard-Montpetit. After personally reaching out to Guelph, she was given an opportunity to join the team and found herself as the No. 3 goalie on the Gryphons depth chart. Just a few years later, she is now the CIS player of the year.




Lamenta's numbers in her university debut in 2014-15 as a backup to senior Stephanie Nehring were already impressive, including a 1.21 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. This season, the mechanical engineering student took it up another notch, finishing first in the country in GAA (0.99), save percentage (.957) and winning percentage (.889) on her way to a 16-2 record in 18 league contests, all of them starts. Thanks in large part to her stellar play, the Gryphons topped the OUA standings with a CIS-best mark of 21-2-1 and reached the top of the national rankings for the first time in program history in mid-November, a position they held on to for the rest of the season.

She continued to shine in the playoffs as her 1.44 GAA and .931 save percentage helped Guelph go 5-1 en route to its first OUA title since 1998.

"Valerie has become a leader for us both on the ice and in the classroom. As a mechanical engineering student, she has some heavy demands on her from an academic standpoint but has showcased the ability to manage her time perfectly when it comes to finding that balance between studying and training," said head coach Rachel Flanagan. "An injury to our starting goalie gave Val an opportunity to take over the No. 1 spot, and she hasn't looked back. Not only has she established herself as our No. 1, but also as one of the top goalies in the entire CIS. She is talented, competitive and, above all else, extremely humble. We're so proud of her for this accomplishment."

The other nominees were forwards Kelty Apperson of St. Thomas, Mélodie Daoust of McGill and Iya Gavrilova of Calgary.

Two other Gryphons were recognized on Wednesday night as both Leigh Shilton and Averi Nooren were named CIS Second Team All-Canadians. Fourth year forward Averi Nooren (Aylmer, ON) scored a team-high 14 goals during the regular season putting her in the top 10 in the country (T-7th) in scoring. While fifth year defenceman Leigh Shilton (Belleville, ON) was a rock on the blueline for the Gryphons and was also one of the league's top point getters amongst defencemen. Shilton registered at least one point in 15 of the 23 games she played in during the regular season, finishing the year with 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists).

2015-2016 CIS WOMEN'S HOCKEY AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Brodrick Trophy (player of the year): Valerie Lamenta, Guelph
Rookie of the year: Mélodie Bouchard, Ottawa
TIMEX Coach of the year: Chris Larade, Saint Mary's
Marion Hilliard Award (hockey, academics & comm. service): Janelle Froehler, Alberta
CIS FIRST TEAM ALL-CANADIANS

Position	Athlete	University	Eligibility Year	Hometown	Academic Program
Goalie	Valerie Lamenta	Guelph	2	Montreal, Que.	Mechanical Engineering
Defence	Julia Flinton	Saskatchewan	5	Williams Lake, B.C.	Agriculture & Biology
Defence	Katelyn Gosling	Western	5	London, Ont.	Social Sciences
Forward	Iya Gavrilova	Calgary	5	Krasnoyarsk, Russia	Arts
Forward	Alexandra Vafina	Calgary	3	Chelyabinsk, Russia	Arts
Forward	Mélodie Daoust	McGill	4	Valleyfield, Que.	Phys. & Health Education

CIS SECOND TEAM ALL-CANADIANS

Position	Athlete	University	Eligibility Year	Hometown	Academic Program
Goalie	Émilie Bouchard	Moncton	4	Casselman, Ont.	Kinesiology
Defence	Brittney Fouracres	McGill	5	Calgary, Alta.	Chemical Engineering
Defence	Leigh Shilton	Guelph	5	Belleville, Ont.	Human Kinetics
Forward	Mélodie Bouchard	Ottawa	1	Sept-Îles, Que.	Education
Forward	Averi Nooren	Guelph	4	Aylmer, Ont.	Child, Youth & Family
Forward	Breanna Lanceleve	St. Mary's	3	Middle Sackville, N.S.	Arts

 
CIS ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

Position	Athlete	University	Eligibility Year	Hometown	Academic Program
Goalie	Rebecca Clark	St. Mary's	1	Keswick, Ont.	Environmental Science
Defence	Cristine Chao	Toronto	1	Toronto, Ont.	Commerce
Defence	Jessica McCann	St. Thomas	1	Grand Bay, N.B.	Arts
Forward	Mélodie Bouchard	Ottawa	1	Sept-Îles, Que.	Education
Forward	Jaycee Magwood	Regina	1	Killarney, Man.	Kin. & Health Studies
Forward	Katrina Manoukarakis	Queen's	1	Scarborough, Ont.	Phys. & Health Educ.