GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team was well-represented on Wednesday afternoon (March 6) as Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced the All-Stars and major award winners for the 2023-24 women's hockey season. The Gryphons were represented on three separate occasions within the OUA's list of major award winners, with
Martina Fedel (OUA Goaltender of the Year), Hanna Tait (OUA True Sport Award) and interim head coach
Katie Mora (OUA Coach of the Year) all earning OUA major awards. Fedel and Tait were also named OUA First Team All-Stars, while first-year blueliner,
Reese Coffey, was named to the OUA All-Rookie Team.
2023-24 OUA Women's Hockey Major Award Winners
| Player of the Year |
Katie Chomiak |
Nipissing Lakers |
| Rookie of the Year |
Abby Lunney |
Nipissing Lakers |
| Coach of the Year |
Katie Mora |
Guelph Gryphons |
| Defender of the Year |
Kara de Hoed |
Nipissing Lakers |
| Forward of the Year |
Katie Chomiak |
Nipissing Lakers |
| Goaltender of the Year |
Martina Fedel |
Guelph Gryphons |
| True Sport Award |
Hannah Tait |
Guelph Gryphons |
| Marion Hilliard Award |
Emily Baxter |
TMU Bold |
| Champion of EDI |
Sam Keane |
Ontario Tech Ridgebacks |
2023-24 OUA Women's Hockey First Team All-Stars
| D |
Kara de Hoed |
Nipissing Lakers |
| D |
Megan Breen |
TMU Bold |
| F |
Katie Chomiak |
Nipissing Lakers |
| F |
Hannah Tait |
Guelph Gryphons |
| F |
Leah Herrfort |
Waterloo Warriors |
| G |
Martina Fedel |
Guelph Gryphons |
2023-24 OUA Women's Hockey Second Team All-Stars
| D |
Sarah Campbell |
Queen's Gaels |
| D |
Maddy Walsh |
Brock Badgers |
| F |
Taylor Trussler |
Toronto Varsity Blues |
| F |
Maggie McKee |
Nipissing Lakers |
| F |
Emily Baxter |
TMU Bold |
| G |
Erica Fryer |
Toronto Varsity Blues |
2023-24 OUA Women's Hockey All-Rookie Team
| D |
Reese Coffey |
Guelph Gryphons |
| D |
Faith Mitchell |
Waterloo Warriors |
| F |
Abby Lunney |
Nipissing Lakers |
| F |
Mikayla Cranney |
Queen's Gaels |
| F |
Taylor Delahey |
Toronto Varsity Blues |
| G |
Emma Tennant |
Queen's Gaels |
Martina Fedel
** OUA Goaltender of the Year
** OUA First Team All-Star
Third-year animal science major,
Martina Fedel, put together one of the greatest seasons by a Gryphon goalie in program history.
The 21-year-old from Trento, Italy becomes just the second player in program history to be named the OUA Goaltender of the Year, joining former national player of the year, Valerie Lamenta (2018-19). Fedel appeared in 19 games during the regular season, posting a 15-4-0 record to help lead the Gryphons to a 1st-place finish in the OUA regular season standings. In the process, Fedel led U SPORTS in goals against average (1.03) while finishing 2nd in U SPORTS in save percentage (.953). Fedel recorded five shutouts during the regular season, and recorded three consecutive shutouts to begin the playoffs, where the Gryphons ultimately fell one game short of reaching the OUA final and nationals after a hard-fought loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues in the OUA semifinals. In her first three seasons as a Gryphon, Fedel has now recorded more shutouts (19) than she has losses (17). This also marks the first time in her U of G career that Fedel has earned OUA All-Star status, with the animal science major landing on the list of OUA First Team All-Stars.
Hannah Tait
** OUA True Sport Award
** OUA First Team All-Star
Hannah Tait takes home the OUA True Sport Award after once again leading both on and off the ice.
The Captain of the women's hockey team has led by example ever since stepping onto U of G campus, with the 22-year-old from Exeter, Ontario immersing herself in a number of areas outside of the hockey rink, including serving as a valuable member of the Gryphons Student-Athlete-Mentor (S.A.M.) Program and Gryphon Leadership Academy. Tait has also been actively involved as an ambassador with Hockey Gives Blood, while also achieving Academic All-Canadian status while majoring in management economics and finance. On the ice, the Captain is just as productive. Tait scored 15 goals during the 2023-24 season, ranking her 2nd among the OUA's leading goal scorers, with only OUA Player of the Year in Nipissing's Katie Chomak (16) having scored more. Tait averaged a point-per-game with 25 points in 25 regular season games played and scored four game-winning goals, while only taking 10 minutes worth of penalties the entire season. She becomes the fourth Gryphons women's hockey player in program history, and first since Lauren Ianni in 2021-22, to be named the OUA's True Sport Award recipient. Tait's standout 2023-24 season also earned her a spot on the list of OUA First Team All-Stars, marking the second consecutive year that Tait has been named an OUA All-Star after being named an OUA Second Team All-Star a season ago.
Katie Mora
** OUA Coach of the Year
After spending the previous seven seasons as an associate coach with the Gryphons women's hockey program, interim head coach
Katie Mora has been named OUA Coach of the Year after a memorable 2023-24 campaign.
Mora, who took over head coaching duties this season after head coach
Rachel Flanagan announced a one-year leave to pursue a coaching opportunity with Toronto of the PWHL, led the Gryphons to a program-record 23 wins during the regular season, helping Guelph finish atop the OUA regular season standings. Prior to her coaching career, Mora played five seasons for her hometown university, serving as team Captain and leading the Gryphons to an appearance at the national championship tournament during her final year in 2014-15 (at the time, Guelph's first appearance back at a nationals in 15 years). Mora becomes just the fourth different Gryphons women's hockey coach to be named OUA Coach of the Year, joining Tod Cox (1997-98), Chuck Wight (2003-04) and five-time OUA Coach of the Year,
Rachel Flanagan (most recent in 2018-19).
Reese Coffey
** OUA All-Rookie Team
Rookie blueliner,
Reese Coffey, is the lone Gryphon to be named to the OUA All-Rookie Team for 2023-24.
The molecular biology & genetics major was one of the top defenders on the team all season, with the Thunder Bay, Ontario resident suiting up in 27 of the 28 regular season games for the Gryphons while adding 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) from the blue line. At just 19-years-old, Coffey already provides the Gryphons with a physical presence in the lineup at 6'0" and played a key role in helping the Gryphons concede the fewest amount of goals (34) during the 28-game regular season.
For more information on the rest of the 2023-24 OUA women's hockey award winners, visit oua.ca.
